By Tegan Sapwell
Former AFL star Ben Cousins has been jailed for seven months for stalking his former partner.
Following his trial in Armadale Magistrates Court, the 42-year-old was on Wednesday found not guilty of 20 counts of breaching a violence restraining order, but was found guilty of stalking.
Fallen Eagles star Ben Cousins after being arrested in Victoria Park. Credit: Nine News Perth
He has been behind bars since April awaiting trial, which means he will have served his full term in 15 days.
More details of Cousins' life marred by drug addiction were laid bare in court last week as the struggling former West Coast Eagles player stood trial accused of stalking Maylea Tinecheff, the mother of his two children.
The court heard Cousins' mental state had spiralled so dramatically in 2018 that Ms Tinecheff was forced to secretly move house with their children late last year.
During the trial, Ms Tinecheff told the court she felt she had to choose between reporting his violence restraining order breaches or having her children taken away.
She said she didn't want Cousins to go to jail, but felt compelled to "breach him" amid fears authorities would swoop in and remove their children from her care.
During the proceedings, Ms Tinecheff was grilled by Cousins' lawyer about mixed messages on when and how the former footballer could interact with his children, which ended with Ms Tinecheff admitting she was "calling the shots".
She told the court she had refused to allow Cousins to drop off Easter eggs to their children in April, just a day after a consensual visit on Easter Monday.
Cousins' lawyer also accused Ms Tinecheff of having an "irritation" about the 42-year-old’s lack of child support payments, despite Mr Cousins receiving about $100,000 for a controversial TV interview.
But Ms Tinecheff responded it was the "least of my worries".
Text messages between the pair dating from April were read in court, with Cousins repeatedly asking to see his children.
But Ms Tinecheff said things came to a head after a TV interview with Cousins aired, where she claimed she could tell her ex-partner was on drugs.
"Don’t call me again," she wrote.
"You have no remorse, you have no love, other than for yourself, drugs, and filthy lifestyle.
"You tormenting rat."
Ms Tinecheff claims she blocked his number but later received a call from his mother's phone and said Cousins started screaming at the children, saying he hated their mother, and she hung up.
Ms Tinecheff was also quizzed over her criminal past, including driving under the influence of drugs with her two children in the car.
Cousins was arrested in April after being found with about 2.5 grams of methamphetamine in East Victoria Park. He was taken into custody after police had earlier been searching for a car that was seen driving erratically near Kensington.
He pleaded guilty to the drug offence and was fined $1500.