Serial DV offender Scott Riggs sentenced in Gladstone court

A Central Queensland thug with 35 domestic violence convictions to his name has added to his unenviable record with a brutal bashing of a woman.

Scott Daniel Malcolm Riggs was sentenced in Gladstone Magistrates Court on January 31.

A Central Queensland man with 35 domestic violence convictions to his name has been sentenced for brutally bashing a woman.

Scott Daniel Malcolm Riggs, 30, appeared in custody in Gladstone Magistrates Court on January 31 where he pleaded guilty to offences including assault occasioning bodily harm (domestic violence offence).

The court heard that Riggs had criminal histories in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria.

It was told his nine-page Queensland criminal history included 35 convictions for domestic violence offences.

In relation to the assault occasioning bodily harm (AOBH), the most serious of his three latest offences, the court heard that about 4am on December 26 last year, Riggs and the female aggrieved got into a verbal argument.

During the argument, Riggs threw a lighter in the victim’s direction but it did not hit her.

Police prosecutor Jennifer Leach said the argument then escalated and Riggs struck the woman “multiple times” in the face with a closed fist.

Scott Daniel Malcolm Riggs.

Ms Leach said the woman suffered bruising and soreness under her left eye.

The court was told that Riggs’ 35 prior DV convictions involved multiple victims.

The prosecution submitted Riggs had shown a “blatant disregard” for obligations and it said these latest offences had occurred while he was on parole.

A solicitor said Riggs had moved to Gladstone when he was a teenager and at the time of committing the AOBH offence, he was using methamphetamine.

Magistrate Mary Buchanan sentenced Riggs to 12 months’ jail, declared 36 days pre-sentence custody as time already served, and fixed parole eligibility at April 26, 2024.

A conviction was recorded.

Originally published as Serial DV offender Scott Riggs sentenced in Gladstone court