Craig Stockwell: NSW cop sentenced for assault on fiancee at Bella Vista home
A Sydney police officer who assaulted his fiancee with a mobile phone during an argument over cheating allegations has faced court for sentencing.
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Policeman Craig Stockwell — who was charged with domestic violence offences for assaulting his fiancee and still works for NSW Police — faced Parramatta Local Court on Thursday.
Magistrate Robyn Denes granted Stockwell, 39, a community release order for 15 months without a conviction after he pleaded guilty to assaulting his fiancee at their Bella Vista home on January 6.
The incident happened when she was downloading software on a computer to check text messages he had deleted from his iPhone two nights earlier.
Police facts tendered to the court state Stockwell, who works in southwest Sydney, gave his fiancee his ex-girlfriend and former work colleague’s mobile phone number so she could ask about the text messages.
The ex-girlfriend confirmed with the victim that they had exchanged text messages, court documents state.
But when his fiancee confronted Stockwell for deleting the messages, he handed it to her so she could retrieve them.
He followed her to the kitchen 10 minutes later and lobbed the phone towards a filing cabinet, which was 10cm from the victim’s face.
The phone ricocheted off the filing cabinet and struck her left eyebrow.
Court papers said Stockwell said: “I can’t believe you’re accusing me of having an affair.”
Court papers state the victim became dizzy and disoriented but did not lose consciousness. “She received swelling around the left eye and felt throbbing in that area. A large red lump developed around her left eyebrow and she felt dizziness and nausea,” the papers say.
Police and ambulance officers were called, and the victim received an injection to treat the nausea.
“When the offender lobbed his phone toward the filing cabinet, he foresaw that it might hit the victim,’’ the papers said.
“The act of throwing the phone was a reckless assault and assault bodily hard was occasioned.
The victim started crying and yelled at the offender to get out; she was scared.”
Before he was taken to Castle Hill police station, Stockwell told his partner: “Yeah right, call the police. Yeah good one, I’m up there now I’m going up there now, I’m going up to Castle Hill police stations (sic) now and I’m going to tell them exactly what’s going on.’’
The court heard the couple, who share children from previous relationships, was undertaking counselling and Stockwell had no previous convictions.
● For information and counselling for domestic violence, call 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732).