Daniel Stevenson: Dad jailed for three months for death threats to ex-partner and son
A cabinet maker who threatened to kill his ex-partner and young son in a string of voicemails has tearfully accepted his fate in court.
South East
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A dad who threatened to kill his ex-partner and son in dozens of voicemails over two days will be a free man before Christmas.
Cabinet maker Daniel Stevenson, 33, was sentenced in the Frankston Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday after pleading guilty on October 4 to two charges of threat to kill.
The court heard Stevenson, who had no prior convictions, had recently separated and began his threats on September 10.
He sent the voicemails on September 11 and 12 and was arrested by officers and placed in custody on September 13.
The court heard Stevenson had been through a rough patch which included the break-up of his marriage, an ankle injury which led to him losing his job, and the death of his dog.
Stevenson’s defence lawyer Mahir Qureshi said his client had sought help for his deteriorating mental health and was “open, willing and able to seek the help he so obviously needs”.
Magistrate Julian Ayres handed down his verdict following a discussion between the prosecutor and Stevenson’s ex-partner.
The prosecutor recommended Stevenson spend further time behind bars, and Mr Ayres also remarked on the woman’s victim impact statement which he said was “consistent with how people would react and extremely concerning”.
He said Stevenson’s offending “happened over a space of 48 hours in extreme circumstances and hasn’t happened before”, and declared he was not a threat to anyone but his ex-partner.
But Mr Ayres said this type of violence was “an absolute bleach on modern civilised society” and “entirely unacceptable”, and Stevenson needed to be deterred “to some extent” from displaying the same behaviour again.
Stevenson sobbed throughout the hearing and buried his head in his hands shortly after he was sentenced to three months’ jail with 45 days already served as pre-detention.
Mr Ayres also placed Stevenson on an 18-month community corrections order and ordered him to appear again at the court for a brief monitoring session on December 15, not long after his expected release.
