Hazelbrook: Allan John Taylor convicted after terrorising elderly father in his bed
A 38-year-old man who terrorised his frail father for more than eight hours while drunk has been released from jail and allowed to go back home to his parents.
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A man who terrorised his frail father for more than eight hours while drunk has been released from jail and allowed to go back home to his parents.
The court heard that on December 14 Allan John Taylor, of Hazelbrook, pulled a knife on his 72-year-old dad twice in one day.
Taylor — who is his dad and mum’s fulltime live-in carer — appeared before Katoomba Local Court via audio visual link charged with two counts of domestic violence-related common assault, stalk/intimidate intend fear physical etc harm (domestic), and contravene prohibition/restriction in AVO (domestic).
According to a police statement on the morning of December 14, Taylor, 38, got into a heated verbal argument with his Dad, John Albert Taylor, who had recently been in hospital.
When Taylor’s Dad went back to bed about 10.15am Taylor — a self-confessed alcoholic — entered the bedroom holding a kitchen knife, about 15 centimetres in length, and stood silently over his father who was laying in bed and held the knife to his throat, the statement said.
“Fearing for his safety, the victim sat up and grabbed the accused’s hand, took the knife and threw it to the corner of the bedroom ... (and) the accused then left the room,” the statement said.
About 6.30pm Taylor allegedly re-entered his Dad’s bedroom holding a kitchen knife to his own throat, about 25-cm in length. It is alleged he then stood over his Dad as he lay in bed and held the knife across his Dad’s neck while continuing to be verbally abusive, eventually leaving the room.
Police were called and they obtained a domestic violence crime scene video statement from the victim.
Taylor was arrested and taken to Springwood Police Station where he allegedly told police that while he could not recall holding a knife to his father’s throat, he “believed the victim would be telling the truth.”
He did remember holding a 25cm kitchen knife to his own throat and drinking a 750ml bottle of vodka however, according to the police statement which also detailed how he told police he had tried to cut his throat “as he wanted to end it all”.
After this admission he was taken to Katoomba Hospital for a mental health assessment and brought back into police custody the next day.
Magistrate Leanne Robinson told Taylor the charges before the court were serious and “can’t be diverted through mental health channels”, noting he was on a community corrections order at the time of these incidents and “posed a great risk to himself and his father.”
A standard enforceable apprehended domestic violence order (ADVO) had been put in place for two years on September 2, naming Taylor’s father as the person in need of protection.
Magistrate Robinson varied the conditions to include a clause prohibiting Taylor from approaching or being in the company of his father within 12 hours of consuming alcohol, explaining to Taylor that what this really means is finding somewhere else to sleep — other than his parents — if he intends to drink.
Taylor was convicted on all four charges and released on bail. Magistrate Robinson ordered that he be supervised by community corrections at Penrith for 18 months.
He should also undergo treatment for alcohol dependence and see a clinical psychologist.
Taylor’s defence solicitor told his client both his parents had attended court earlier that day, having understood their son would appear in person, and are “organising for someone to pick you up.”
The bigger picture
Reports of domestic-violence related assault have increased among female and male victims, adult and juvenile victims and intimate partner and family violence victims across the state, according to the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research.
The bureau’s latest data showed that in the 24 months to December 2019, domestic violence-related assault had trended upwards five percent across the state.
The same data showed that in the Blue Mountains local government area there were 173 recorded incidents of domestic violence in the 12 months to December, representing 0.6 incidents for every 100,000 people.
Blue Mountains police area command crime manager, Detective Inspector Scott McAlpine, said his officers treat all forms of domestic violence as serious and investigate, with a few to keeping the victims safe.
“We encourage all persons who feel that are a victim of domestic violence to come forward and report those matters,” Det Insp McAlpine said.