Townsville veteran facing rape, strangulation charges arrested for allegedly spying on ex-wife while on bail

A Townsville man who allegedly took secret videos of his ex-wife through her windows after allegedly strangling and raping her, has applied for bail in court.

The man is accused of installing cameras on a neighbour’s property to watch his ex-wife.

A Townsville man allowed to walk free in the community on bail after being arrested for allegedly raping and strangling his ex-wife, has been caught spying on her.

After being arrested a second time, the man has made another bid for freedom and applied for bail in Townsville Magistrates Court on Friday, May 17.

It’s alleged the man – who cannot be named to avoid identifying the alleged victim – worked with a neighbour to set up cameras and monitor his ex-wife while she lived in a matrimonial property.

Defence lawyer Harvey Walters said his client was watching the house because he was upset about it potentially going to sale.

At the time, the man was on bail for charges of raping and strangling his ex-wife and was under strict orders to not contract her.

The man was on bail for rape and strangulation charges while he was spying on the woman. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

It’s alleged the man, who is a veteran, worked with a neighbour to install cameras on the neighbour’s property to monitor the comings-and-goings of the ex-wife.

This allegedly included working together to write down the number plates of cars that visited her address, taking pictures of her through the windows and travelling past the house attempting to reach the wi-fi network.

The alleged offending was discovered in April 2024 when the woman said she’d become aware she was being watched while in her front yard.

When police officers executed a search warrant on the neighbour’s property, they allegedly found evidence of the woman being spied on from at least August 2023 to January 2024.

Police say the evidence collected includes pictures of the woman inside her house, screenshots of CCTV footage, monitoring of cars and visitors at the house, and a SMS conversation between the neighbour and the ex-husband.

Police prosecutor Sergeant Tim Madsen read a small part of the alleged conversation out in court.

Neighbour: Hey have the cameras come back online?

Ex-husband: No mate they’ve been off since yesterday morning

Neighbour: Because (the ex-wife’s) car has been in the house since I got home yesterday and the lights were on last night. Does your internet have a name because I will walk past later today and see if I can see it by searching for wi-fi?

Ex-husband: hey, did you see anything on your cameras?

Neighbour: I had a look on the weekend but I will check today. I did see (a man) mowing your lawn.

Ex-husband: how good are your eyes? Did you get the number plate?

Neighbour: On the white car that is there now?

Ex-husband: Yes mate, please

The neighbour then provides the number plate of the visiting car, according to the Police prosecutor.

The neighbour has also been charged over the matter and will appear in court separately.

Sgt Marsden told the Court that the dates of the spying period meant the ex-husband started surveillance on his ex-wife mere days after being released on bail in the Supreme Court for the rape and strangulation charges.

“This is extremely serious,” Sgt Marsden said of the situation.

“He seems to have found himself an alleged loophole (in the bail conditions).”

Magistrate Steven Mosch made requests for more information about the alleged stalking period, but the police files on the court computer were light in evidence.

Sgt Marsden said a full evidence report was being delayed as officers waited for Telstra to release records.

Magistrate Mosch denied the man bail, remanding him in custody where he will stay behind bars as he waits for his matters to go before a judge.

Originally published as Townsville veteran facing rape, strangulation charges arrested for allegedly spying on ex-wife while on bail