Man pleads guilty to breaching domestic violence order

When police stopped a couple in a car on Boat Harbour Drive at Torquay, they got more than they bargained for.

A man has been fined for breaching a domestic violence order after he was busted sitting in the same car as his partner. He produced a text message on his mobile phone showing consent, but it was dated and time stamped after the police interception, the court heard.

A man has been fined for breaching a domestic violence order after he was busted sitting in the same car as his partner.

The 41-year-old man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to the breach when he appeared before Hervey Bay Magistrates Court this month.

The court heard the order was granted in October 2023 in the Hervey Bay court and it had four conditions, including that the man must not follow or approach within 50m of the woman except with prior written consent via text or email, which could be withdrawn either orally or in writing at any time.

On the morning of March 7, 2024, police were carrying out random breath testing on Boat Harbour Drive in Torquay when they stopped a vehicle.

The woman was driving the car and the man was a passenger.

A man has been fined for breaching a domestic violence order after he was busted sitting in the same car as his partner. He produced a text message on his mobile phone showing consent, but it was dated and time stamped after the police interception, the court heard.

Both parties told police she had given her prior written consent for him to be there via email.

However they were unable to produce the email.

The defendant produced a text message on his mobile phone showing consent, but it was dated and time stamped after the police interception, the court heard.

The court heard the man had been in the relationship with the woman for about two years.

There had been no previous breaches of the order,it was told.

The two were doing counselling together and the relationship had improved, the court heard.

The man was currently employed and had been for about a year.

There were no allegations of domestic violence, but it was a breach of the order, the court heard.

Magistrate Trinity McGarvie said she took into account the man’s contribution to the community and that there had been no violence or threats of violence involved in the offending.

“But these orders are serious and you have to comply with them,” she said.

The man was fined $300 and a conviction was recorded.

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Originally published as Man pleads guilty to breaching domestic violence order