Aboriginal woman reported husband’s threats to NT Police hours before rape, but cops never showed

An Aboriginal woman who was protected by a domestic violence order called police to report threats from her husband, but no officers were dispatched. Twelve hours later, he raped her as she slept.

NT Police were unable to respond to a Central Australian woman’s reports of threats from her husband – less than 12 hours later, he raped her. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

A Central Australian woman under the protection of a domestic violence order was raped by her husband, who had a history of breaching such orders, less than 12 hours after she reported his threatening behaviour to police, who failed to show up.

The detail is included within Justice Judith Kelly’s published remarks from her sentence of the rapist husband, from Alice Springs originally, who was found guilty by a jury of sexual intercourse without consent, and aggravated assault.

The man, who is aged in his thirties and cannot be legally identified, was sentenced in the Supreme Court at Darwin on December 20.

Justice Judith Kelly told the court the defendant had been in a relationship with his wife for about four years when the rape occurred.

Supreme Court Justice Judith Kelly pictured in her chambers in Darwin. Picture: File

The pair had a child together, and the woman had a daughter from a previous relationship.

They were living together at an Aboriginal community southwest of Alice Springs last year when the defendant began threatening his wife after she told him she was tiring of the relationship.

“You told the victim that you were going to leave [the Aboriginal community] the next day and you told her you would harm her if she did not go with you,” Justice Kelly said.

“You said you would do something bad to her before you left.”

The woman “pretended” to go to the laundry to get some privacy to call police and report the threats, which she did, but the cops never showed, despite the man’s history of breaching DVOs.

The raped woman contacted the Joint Emergency Services Communications Centre to report her husband’s threats, but officers were never dispatched. Generic imagery of the JESCC. Picture: File

“The operator asked her whether she could stay there, but she said she had to go back to [their residence], because her daughter was there,” Justice Kelly said.

“This phone call happened just about after [7pm].”

Less than 12 hours later, the woman woke up to her husband raping her.

“She was scared, upset and crying and she told you, ‘That’s not right’,” Justice Kelly said.

“You yelled at her and you were smiling. She was menstruating at the time.”

Later that morning, the man hit his wife over the head with a metal spoon twice.

Turning to the defendant’s individual circumstances, the judge said he had relevant convictions for exposing a child to indecent material (by way of sending sexually explicit photographs), and using a carriage service to harass, both of which were committed against his stepdaughter.

He also had numerous convictions for breaching domestic violence orders.

The defendant’s childhood was marred by “neglect and violence,” Justice Kelly said – his parents were alcoholics and unable to care for him – and he became dependent on sniffing paint and petrol as an adolescent, but managed to break free of his addictions following a lengthy rehabilitation program.

He went on to have a “commendable” employment history, most recently as a labourer.

The man was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment backdated to his arrest in mid-2023, with a non-parole period of three years and six months.

Justice Kelly dryly commented it was “unfortunate” police weren’t dispatched when the woman reported the threats from her husband.

NT Police said their policy was to not comment on judgments issued by Territory courts.

It’s not the first occasion in recent memory that alarms have gone unanswered by police just prior to tragedy occurring.

Earlier this year, it was revealed a welfare check had been requested for a woman at Malak.

Police were unable to respond to the matter, and the woman subsequently died, allegedly at the hands of her partner.