NewsBite

Alleged obsessed stalker exiled from Melbourne for 'appalling' behaviour

Behaviour of a landscaper who was ordered to move to regional Victoria after allegedly stalking and threatening his ex-partner, has been labelled "appalling" by a magistrate. 

What happens when you are charged with a crime?

A Melbourne landscaper has returned to court after he was ordered to move to regional Victoria amid allegations he stalked and threatened to set fire to an ex-partner’s home.

Christopher Toohey, 32, appeared in the Werribee Magistrates' Court on Monday, where defence indicated he would plead guilty to charges of stalking, assault and committing offences whilst on bail. 

Magistrate Andrew Capell agreed to give a sentence indication at the next hearing, after describing the offending as "appalling".

He said he could understand why the victim was in fear.

"This is what coercive control is, everything about it," he said. 

"He tried to control her and make her life miserable."

The Melton father of three was taken into custody on August 11 after an ex-partner came forward alleging he had stalked her “consistently” between April and August this year.

During the previous hearing police alleged that Toohey was violent and abusive toward the woman after the end of their relationship.

Senior Constable Hayden Bennett told the court the alleged stalking “ramped up” in June after Toohey found out she had begun to date another person.

He accused her of logging into her online accounts to “track her” and making threats to get her new boyfriend “in trouble”.

Toohey went as far as logging into her Woolworths account where she had placed a click and collect order with the note "my partner will pick it up for me", referencing her new partner. 

Things got worse when she blocked his phone number in August after he allegedly hid a recording device in a car she was using, Senior Constable Bennett said.

It is alleged Toohey attempted to call the victim more than 300 times before visiting her address and assaulting her in the driveway. 

During one phone call he allegedly yelled and said he was going to “set the hedge on fire”.

“The messages between them are consistent and relentless,” Senior Constable Bennett said.

“He was keeping her house under surveillance.”

Despite police opposition to bail, Magistrate Capell was convinced to release him last month after his lawyer offered for him to live in Sea Lake — 351km northwest of Melbourne.

He was ordered to move to the regional town, banned from communicating with the alleged victim and banned from entering Wyndham.

“For someone with no prior history, if 53 days in custody doesn’t get the message through then nothing will,” Magistrate Capell said.

“There’s no grey area Mr Toohey — you do not contact her.”

Magistrate Capell said he would be interested to see how Toohey behaved before his case returned to court next year. 

"He has only been on bail one month, this will test him," he said. 

He will return to Sunshine Magistrates' Court in April 2023. 

Original URL: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/leader/west/christopher-toohey-alleged-stalker-told-to-leave-melbourne/news-story/4fd9b0a3ada011ea09e5c8bb9e51f93f