Clayton Washington, 49, pleads guilty in Toowoomba Magistrates Court to deprivation of liberty
A woman was forced to flee her home with her dog in hand after her boyfriend held her hostage for three terror-filled days.
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A Toowoomba man who threatened his girlfriend at knifepoint and left her scared to use the bathroom while holding her hostage has been sentenced.
Toowoomba man Clayton James Washington, 49, pleaded guilty before Toowoomba Magistrates Court on Tuesday to 13 charges, including deprivation of liberty and assault occasioning bodily harm while armed, after kidnapping his partner of a few months.
The court was told that at the time of his offending, Washington was attempting to move into the woman’s home despite her objections.
On Monday, May 12, 2025 Washington asked the woman to accompany him home to collect some belongings.
“The complainant was not allowed to speak to anyone (in Washington’s house),” police prosecutor Sergeant Tim Hutton said.
“The defendant had been using drugs so his behaviour had become erratic; he began to accuse the complainant of stealing his things and carrying on.”
The woman went into another room to get away from Washington but he followed, headbutting her twice and causing swelling and bruising to her head.
A few moments later, he threw a small, heavy torch at her head, leaving a cut that bled onto her clothes.
Over three days, the woman was deprived of her freedom, with Washington berating her every move, even her attempts to go to the bathroom.
The woman told police she wanted to leave but felt too scared due to the barrage of threats and physical assaults from Washington.
Sometime during the second day, Washington locked the woman inside a bedroom before threatening her with a knife.
“He approached the complainant with a knife in his hand, saying that she was ‘pushing him to snap’,” Sergeant Hutton said.
When she tried to leave again, Washington pushed her from behind, grabbed her legs and flipped her on her back
The court was told she cried “just let me go, just let me go” but Washington would not.
On Wednesday, May 14 the woman was able to convince Washington to let her check on her dog back at her home; the pair left together but returned to Washington’s property on Friday, May 16, where she stayed the night.
The next day, the woman and Washington returned to her property where, while his back was turned, she fled with her dog to a neighbour’s home.
The woman sustained muscle tissue damage, cuts and bruises to her head and arms, and concussive symptoms from Washington’s attacks.
The 49-year-old was found hiding under a bed frame where police also found two gold watches; when asked where the watches came from, he declined to comment.
Washington also pleaded guilty to multiple unrelated drug and domestic violence offences.
Defence solicitor Michael Corbin said Washington accepted his actions but had viewed the situation differently to his victim.
“My initial instructions were Mr Washington denied, not so much the gravity or the existence of things that happened, but the perspective of them,” Mr Corbin said.
“He was of the view that she was trying to get him to stay with her, of course that wasn’t the case … but that’s how he saw it at the time.
“He was, on his own admission, under the influence at the time, that doesn’t assist him in this instance but it does explain where his head was at, at the time.
“He does acknowledge that he does have a problem with illicit substances, particularly methamphetamine and cannabis.”
Mr Corbin said Washington had struggled with his mental health for much of his life and indicated Washington acknowledged a need for further support.
Washington was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment and ordered to serve an additional three months for a previously held suspended sentence.
Thirty-nine days of presentence custody were declared time already served, with Washington set to be released on parole on November 26, 2025.
Convictions were recorded.
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