Stawell man Greg Marks assaults woman in her home with metal cable

A man told police he was walking along the Western Highway all the way from Ballarat to Stawell, where he entered a woman’s home and beat her with metal cabling.

A Stawell man claimed to have walked roughly 120km along the Western Highway to reach the home of a woman whom he later assaulted with a metal cable.

Greg Marks appeared in Ballarat County Court on Thursday.

The court heard that in September 2021, Marks exchanged messages with a woman from Stawell which were sometimes “pleasant” and sometimes “threatening”.

Marks frequently tried to reach her, and she eventually told him he had “completely lost it”.

He replied: “You’re the one with the head problem, not me.

“You’ve f—ed me around for the least [sic] time.”

He later added: “Me and the boys are coming for you and anyone who gets in our way.”

Greg Marks was sentenced in Ballarat County Court for assaulting a woman in Stawell with a piece of metal cabling in September 2021. Photo: Facebook

On the morning of the 16th, Stawell police spoke with Marks as he was walking along the Western Highway west of Ararat.

He said he had come from Ballarat and was heading to Stawell.

He arrived at the home of the woman to whom he had been speaking and climbed inside through a window.

The court heard Marks was armed with what appeared to be a 20cm piece of metal road barrier cabling.

He began screaming at the woman and prodded her with the cable, scratching her neck and face.

He then pinned her to the bed and struck her.

At one stage Marks put both hands on his victim’s neck, and she began to have trouble breathing.

Using a black cord, he whipped the woman several times to the thigh, shoulder, and face.

Eventually she was able to use a coat stand as a barrier and escaped through a window.

Marks followed her, telling her to “get back inside” as she was “making a scene”.

When he realised the police had been called, he walked away, taking the victim’s phone.

Police later arrested Marks and found small quantities of cannabis and methylamphetamine in his possession.

His victim said she felt “traumatised” and had trouble sleeping for several months afterwards.

The court heard Marks’ life was affected by early drug use and a lack of basic necessities growing up.

By age 13, he was “in effect” homeless.

Marks pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary, intentionally causing injury, common assault, theft, and possession of drugs of dependence.

He was sentenced to four years and four months’ imprisonment with a non-parole period of two years and nine months, with 525 days already served.