Sydney man slapped with DV, animal cruelty charges

A man accused of violently assaulting a woman and keeping dead rabbits in his freezer allegedly killed the animals out of “frustration”.

A Sydney man accused of violently assaulting a woman and threatening to release intimate videos of her is alleged to have also killed out of “frustration” rabbits that he stored in his freezer.

He appeared before Bankstown Local Court on Wednesday charged with 33 domestic violence and animal cruelty offences following a raid on his Chester Hill home last week.

Police allege a woman was assaulted and threatened with physical violence, including allegedly being slapped, choked and punched by a man known to her.

The man also faces four charges of recording intimate images without the woman's consent after he allegedly filmed her during an intimidate act before threatening to release the video.

During their search, police allegedly unearthed dead rabbits and a rabbit carcass in the freezer of the man’s unit, with two rabbits alive in a cage handed to the RSPCA.

A man is accused of keeping dead rabbits in his freezer. Picture: Generic image

Police allege the man killed the rabbits after he “became frustrated by the animals”, with court documents revealing the pet animals were allegedly “strangled and dissected”.

The documents, which were tendered to the court, shed new light on allegations of a months-long campaign of abuse beginning in April when the man allegedly stalked or harassed the woman at Chester Hill.

Over the coming months, the man is alleged to have assaulted the woman in Pyrmont, Guildford and at Chester Hill as well as “recklessly” destroying her phone screen on June 30.

He is further accused by police of using a carriage service to threaten to kill the woman twice in early July as well as possessing about 1g of cannabis at the time of his arrest last week.

The man did not appear at Bankstown Local Court on Wednesday after being refused bail.

Magistrate Glenn Walsh told the court both the Commonwealth and NSW Director of Public Prosecutions could elect to take over the case following a two-week adjournment.

The man will reappear before the same court on July 27, with no application being made for his release.

He faces 33 offences, including:

• Two count of stalk or intimidate intending to cause fear of physical etc harm – domestic related
• Four counts of common assault – domestic violence
• Eight counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm – domestic violence
• Drive motor vehicle during disqualification period – second
• Three counts of torture or beat animal and cause death
• Intentionally choke person without consent – domestic violence
• Destroy or damage property worth less than $2000 – domestic violence
• Three counts of using a carriage service to threaten to kill
• Four counts of intentionally recording intimate image without consent etc – domestic violence
• Three counts of using a carriage service to menace, harass, or offend
• Possess a prohibited drug
• Threaten to distribute intimate image without consent – domestic violence
• Fail to comply digital evidence access order direction