QLD DV pregnant mother raped by meth using partner

A trapped, pregnant Qld woman was repeatedly abused by her abattoir worker partner who held a butcher’s knife to her neck and told her she’d “leave in a body bag”. No-one in the home, including her mother-in-law, intervened. *Distressing.

Generic domestic violence image. Picture: istock

*WARNING - This article contains graphic, distressing descriptions of domestic violence. Reader discretion is advised.

A pregnant woman was raped, stomped on the head and legs repeatedly, told she would be killed and flogged with a belt while living with her attacker, his mother and other family.

But no one intervened or helped her.

She had to run away to another regional city in Queensland to escape, leaving four of her children behind with her methamphetamine-addicted, violent partner out of fear for her life and that of her unborn child.

Her nightmare story was revealed in Rockhampton District Court last week as her abuser was jailed over the four-months of horror domestic violence torment.

The victim’s attacker, 37, cannot be identified for legal reasons, was found guilty after a recent trial by a jury of one count of rape, one of common assault and two of breaching a domestic violence order.

His mother and other family members attended court to support the offender during the trial and sentencing.

The defendant had entered pleas of guilty prior to the trial to one count of assault occasioning bodily harm and two of common assault.

Judge Jeff Clarke said the defendant treated the victim in “an incredibly appalling manner” and had been doing it for years.

He said his conduct was “invasive, persistent, brazen, callous” and “gutless” by treating “a vulnerable, physically inferior person” in a way to achieve “total control, domination” and make her feel inferior and frightened of him.

The defendant backhanded the victim across the mouth while he was driving after she went saw messages on his phone from other women.

He told her “wait ‘til we get home. I’ll fix you up” and when they arrived at the residence, where his mother and others lived, she told him she didn’t want to go into their bedroom.

The court heard this was because she knew the partner was going to “flog her”.

Judge Clarke said the victim was crying while the man was ranting, yelling and swearing at her.

“She was pleading with him that she didn’t want to go into the room,” he said.

“He told her to get in there or he would drag her in there.”

Judge Clarke said the victim ran from him, fell in the hallway and the defendant stood over her.

He said the victim got into the room, jumped on the bed and tried to use a blanket to protect herself, but he pulled it off her and then circled the bed like a “cat and mouse” scenario.

The defendant flogged the victim with his own belt, causing a significant injury to one of her fingers as it was struck with the belt’s metal buckle.

He told her to “put something on it so it doesn’t bleed everywhere”.

The court heard the victim wasn’t allowed to leave the house without his permission and one time, she tried to sneak out at night, to go to the shops and get a break from the partner.

However, he heard her as she went through the gate and chased after her, grabbing her by the jaw from behind and pulling her to the ground.

He then dragged her into the house, stomped on her head, continued dragging her into the room where he stomped on her head again.

“She was curled up in the foetal position before he repeatedly stomped and jumped on her legs up to eight times,” Judge Clarke said.

The defendant then retrieved a meat worker’s butcher knife which he placed on her neck and said “do you want to leave me? The only way you’re going to leave me is if you’re going to be leaving in a body bag. Keep going, you’re going to get cut up. I’m going to cut you up like I cut up them cows, and don’t act like you know I can’t because you know I can”.

He later sent her messages calling her many derogatory names including slut and accusing her of infidelity.

Judge Clarke said the last episode of jealousy, which was over “the most innocuous thing”, led to the woman fleeing to another city.

The defendant became jealous of her spending time with her niece, having her hair done by her, after seeing a selfie she sent to her sister proudly showing her niece’s work.

He’d found the photo while going through her phone as she slept with the three young children were in the room.

“He woke her up by punching her in the head three times,” Judge Clarke said.

He asked who she was sending the photo to and after replying her sister, he said “don’t lie to me. You better not be sending this photo to anybody else”.

The attacker jumped up and started stomping and kicking her.

The victim told him to stop and asked him about the baby – she was eight weeks pregnant.

“She was covering and cradling her stomach,” Judge Clarke said.

The abuser said “no, I don’t want that baby” and continued kicking her to her side and her head before grabbing her legs, pulling her to the edge of the bed and raped her.

“When she managed to get away, it took her some time before she could complain,” Judge Clarke said.

“She says she tossed and turned, wondering about whether she should report him for what he’d done to her.

“She knew that she would have no support- he had achieved that.

“She said it was a devastating decision to leave her children behind.”

The court heard when she was reunited with her children, they only had the clothes on their backs.

Judge Clarke said it was through a women’s group that became a pivotal point for the victim in understanding domestic violence.

“She says it’s hard to describe to someone that hasn’t been through it (DV), what it’s like,” he said.

“It’s (post DV trauma) like your body has physically left but your mind is flashing back, stuck there, reliving the abuse, hurt and pain.

“I was anxious, paranoid and having panic attacks.

“For me, I was in survival mode, and I’m having to relearn how to live a normal, peaceful life.”

Judge Clarke said she the woman now limited social interaction, only left the house for really important errands and referred to herself a a “work in progress”.

He said as for the offender, his prospect for rehabilitation was bleak, particularly noting his comments that he wanted contact with his children in the future which showed he was “completely clueless about the harm he had done to them”.

Crown prosecutor Cameron Keast said the man had a six -page criminal history which included being sentenced in the District Court to a two-year prison term for wounding where he had left a de-escalated situation and returned with a knife and stabbed a man.

Judge Clarke described that attack as being carried out in a “fit of rage”.

Mr Keast said the defendant had also been placed on probation shortly before this offending period started and failed to engage in any intervention.

Defence barrister Sheridan Shaw said her client, who had worked in abattoirs, struggled with drugs and alcohol throughout his life and ice (methamphetamines) had been a problem in during this offending period.

She said he instructed he started consuming ice after his sister died in a car accident.

Judge Clarke sentenced the offender to eight years in jail and made no order about parole.

The abuser had spent 637 days in presentence custody which was declared as time already served on the sentence.

Originally published as QLD DV pregnant mother raped by meth using partner