James Darren Weidig admits intimidating sister to force her out of his house

A Bundanoon artist admitted to taking a sibling spat too far after spotting his sister at a pub with an unknown man.

A Bundanoon artist on parole admitted to taking a sibling spat too far when he followed his sister home after seeing her at the pub with an unknown man.

James Darren Weidig, 29, appeared via video link in Moss Vale Local Court on Wednesday after pleading guilty to intimidation with the intention of causing mental or physical harm.

The court heard the Bundanoon resident was on parole for a previous intimidation conviction when he got a call from his sister telling him her house in Singleton had burned down. Although the two hadn’t been close for over eight years, he let her stay with him in his Bundanoon home.

Weidig’s lawyer Fiona Kay told the court her client thought he was doing the right thing.

“He told me: ‘I’m not a perfect person but I thought I was helping’,” she said.

James Darren Weidig admitted to intimidating his sister and trying to get her out of his house. Picture: Facebook

However, court documents reveal their living arrangement fell apart when Weidig saw his sister at a Bundanoon pub with a man on February 10 this year. According to the documents, Weidig arrived at the pub to discuss the consignment of his artwork when he took issue with the way his sister was interacting with a man outside the pub.

The court heard the two began to argue and the fight soon turned to money. When the victim walked off, Weidig followed her – first to a service station and then to their home. Despite the change of scenery, the court heard Weidig continued their argument in their lounge room and called her a number of “derogatory terms”.

The victim told police he shoved the glass coffee table, which scared her, before telling her she couldn’t live in the house anymore.

According to court documents, she then went to her bedroom to pack her belongings but wasn’t able to properly pack because Weidig had followed her into the room and was continuing to harass her.

James Darren Weidig appeared in Moss Vale Local Court on June 9 2021. Picture: AAP Image/Joel Carrett

Both the victim and accused called the police, with Weidig telling police: “it’s all good now she has left”.

Police found the victim near the house in an inconsolable state, according to court documents.

“She was visibly hysterical, unable to control her emotions, crying heavily and had difficulty speaking to police,” they said.

The documents reveal she told police: “If you don’t take him away, he will kill me”.

Ms Kay said the victim was “highly intoxicated” and suggested alcohol contributed to her emotional distress.

When the police came to the house the next night, the victim let them into the house. According to court documents, Weidig could be heard yelling at the victim.

“What the f***? Why did you tell them I’m here for?” he said.

Ms Kay said the victim engineered a situation in which her brother would be taken into custody.

James Darren Weidig was sentenced at Moss Vale Local Court. Picture: AAP Image/Joel Carrett

“His sister knows his criminal history and knows how easy it would be for him to come back to jail,” she said.

She told the court Weidig was “very upset with himself” and had been struggling to get the mental health support he needed during the past year.

Magistrate Mark Douglass noted Weidig had spent three months in jail since the incident for committing the offence while he was on “conditional liberty”.

He sentenced Weidig to a 16-month Community Corrections Order with supervision. The magistrate also ordered him to participate in mental health assessment and treatment as directed, undertake domestic violence and anger management programs, and abstain from drugs or alcohol.