Matthew Drane: Scorned Tinder date falsely claimed ex was a bad mother

A well-to-do Bundaberg distillery owner used fake emails to exact revenge on a Tinder match.

A well-to-do businessman – who owns Waterview Distillery in Bundaberg – has tarnished his otherwise clean criminal record after using fake emails to exact revenge on a Tinder match.

Matthew Drane, 46, appeared before Port Macquarie Local Court on September 12 for intimidation charges after he created an email address and sent messages trying to defame his ex-girlfriend, a local PR guru and former reality TV contestant.

It comes after the two met on Tinder in May 2018, with the victim requesting “that the relationship slow down due to feeling smothered” in June of the same year.

Agreed police facts recount the victim ending the relationship in August 2018, aware that Drane “did not take (it) well”.

Drane appeared before Port Macquarie Local Court again this week.

“The accused reached out to friends of the victim’s basically declaring his love for (her) and how hurt he was now that they had separated,” court documents reveal.

Drane used his intimate knowledge of separate legal problems, which she confided in him while dating.

Knowing “how worried and afraid” the woman was for her child, Drane set out to defame his ex by suggesting that she was a bad mother.

Between August and October 2018, Drane set up an email account and sent anonymous emails to his victim’s ex-husband, slandering her and suggesting that she is a unfit parent.

“The emails are an attempt to bad mouth the victim and shine a light on what the accused believed were ‘bad’ mothering skills,” agreed facts reveal.

“The accused starts one of his emails with “I suggest you have a bit more of a dig around about as to what your ex has been up to”.”

Drane later admitted to sending the emails.

He completed a statutory declaration, outlining the truth, with Drane admitting “sadly I knew what would cause the most hurt to (the victim) and I applied it via this method”.

“My email was sent out of loss and a broken heart, having felt that (she) was the ‘one’ and at the time had only relocated to Port Macquarie to be closer to her with the expectation the relationship would end in marriage,” Drane stated in the signed document.

“I was devastated and angry at the time and, out of spite and a broken heart, wanted (her) to feel the pain I was experiencing and emailed various lies.

“(I) lied and did this out of a broken heart, bitterness, spite and wanting the victim to feel the pain (I) was feeling due to the relationship ending.”

In the midst of what has become a three-year court battle, Drane has taken to social media to defend his reputation.

Drane’s Tinder profile was updated to list “poverty stricken ex” as his occupation, referring to Drane’s recent bankruptcy.

The victim described Drane as “dangerous”.

“The police in Bundaberg regularly check in with me to ensure I kept pursuing the charges,” she said.

The defence referred to Drane’s clean criminal record in its submission, saying it would be “substantially out of context” for the magistrate to consider time behind bars as a suitable punishment, and claiming Drane’s actions were “a misguided exercise but not with criminal intention”.

Drane’s solicitor requested a non-conviction, claiming the man needed to maintain his clean record in order to travel to America for specialist medical appointments for his now-adult son.

Magistrate Georgina Darcy told Drane it was “rather ironic that you’re requesting leniency” for the sake of his own child when he had no regard for his victim’s daughter.

Ms Darcy convicted Drane for the intimidation offence, sentencing him to a 12-month community correction order.

The magistrate also granted a five-year apprehended domestic violence order for the protection of the victim, in an earlier court appearance.