Court told choking was part of sex, not an attack

Ipswich man charged with choking his de facto denied bail despite partner withdrawing complaint

AN IPSWICH man charged with choking his de facto has been denied bail despite his partner withdrawing her complaint and saying the acts were part of sex play.

John Adrian Rigby, 35, who has a history of drug use and drug-induced psychosis, was charged with choking and threatening to kill his de facto wife, obstructing police, and possessing a registered drug.

Brisbane Supreme Court heard his partner then retracted the allegations of choking, saying instead the injuries police noted when they attended occurred when she was having sex with Mr Rigby.

Justice Jean Dalton, in determining the application, outlined how Mr Rigby's de facto and mother had together approached Mr Rigby's solicitor at a previous bail application, and given him a statutory declaration which suggested she no longer alleged his client had violently choked her.

The court heard Mr Rigby's de facto said she had actually been choked as part of consensual sex with Mr Rigby, but she was too embarrassed to tell police.

Justice Dalton said the recant was "a rather garbled version" and was entirely "at odds" with all other evidence surrounding the incident.

This included concerned members of the public phoning police after hearing fighting during the recent incident, and police noting when they attended that Mr Rigby's partner was touching her throat in pain.

The court heard police suggested she go to hospital, but there was no one able to look after the children.

Justice Dalton said police observed Mr Rigby was angry when they attended and they were very concerned for his de facto wife's safety.

She said she did not think Mr Rigby being only 5km away with an order not to contact his de facto "would give me much comfort for her safety at all", and denied the man bail.

- ARM NEWSDESK

Originally published as Court told choking was part of sex, not an attack