Rape, fraud, assault: Shocking cases in Gympie courts
From a woman stealing $7k from her workplace to a man strangling his partner with a dog lead, these are the shocking crimes that have been heard in Gympie courts recently.
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With two weeks of District Court sittings coming to a close and more horrific cases being heard in Magistrates Court, Gympie courts have dealt with a fair share of criminals in recent days.
From a woman stealing $7k from her workplace to a man strangling his partner with a dog lead, these are 11 shocking crimes that have been finalised in Gympie courts recently.
1. Gympie mum who stole $7k from Fisherman’s Haul wiped away the tears in court
The owners of Gympie business Fisherman’s Haul discovered via CCTV that one of their employees, and a close family friend, stole thousands of dollars from them while she worked.
Emma Elizabeth Ritchie, 38, pleaded guilty in Gympie Magistrates Court to stealing as an employee on February 1, 2021, and was sentenced on Tuesday, April 27, 2021.
Magistrate Kurt Fowler told the court the stealing started on September 28, 2019, and didn’t stop until December 4, 2019, when Ritchie was confronted by her bosses.
Ritchie, a mother who lives in Gympie, stole a total of $7268 in cash from the family business on 94 occasions, across 69 shifts.
The court heard Ritchie did not just steal money but took items of stock with no intention of reimbursing the owners.
Ritchie was ordered to pay the $7268 in restitution and was sentenced to 12 months jail, suspended for two years.
A conviction was recorded.
2. Former equestrian rider on fraud, drugs and joy ride charges
A former equestrian rider and Victory College student who went off the rails after leaving the school left the Gympie Magistrate stunned on Tuesday over the number of offences she’d committed despite her age.
Chantslea Sue Curran, 20, pleaded guilty in Gympie Magistrates Court to fraud, stealing two cars, possessing cannabis and driving unlicensed.
Curran was also on probation from previous crimes at the time of offending, which is the second time she has breached a probation.
Police prosecutor Michael Phillips told the court Curran committed the stealing offence and fraud on the same day in October 2020, when she stole a car from Coochin Creek and drove it up the Bruce Highway.
She later filled the car with fuel before driving off without paying.
She was also unlicensed at the time, having been disqualified from obtaining a licence from a court order.
She was fined $750, disqualified from driving for two years, and sentenced to 10 months behind bars, but released immediately on parole.
3. 61-year-old guilty of child sex offences and rape
A jury took only one hour to reach a guilty verdict in the trial of a Gympie man charged with multiple child sex offences, including rape.
John William Spencer, 61, will spend a minimum of two years behind bars after being convicted of two counts of rape and five counts of indecent treatment of a child under the age of 16 and in his care at the time.
John William Spencer (right) leaving Gympie District Court.
Crown Prosecutor Stephanie Gallagher said in relation to Spencer’s crimes, he was opportunistic at times, and other times his actions were premeditated.
She also said both of his young victims were in counselling as a result of the assaults, and Spencer’s actions demonstrated a violation of trust.
“He showed no remorse for his offending,” she said.
“You are dealing with a man who despite the jury’s verdict still refuses to accept that he has been convicted of sexual offences.”
Spencer was sentenced to four years in prison but will be eligible for parole in 2023.
4. Former footballer jailed for choking partner in Cooloola Cove attack
A former rugby league footballer was convicted of a sickening domestic violence assault on his partner and her daughter in 2018 in a trial in the Gympie District Court.
Russell Douglas Johnston, 47, was found guilty on one charge of choking in a domestic setting and two charges of common assault when the jury returned its verdict.
The father of four was found not guilty on two charges of assault occasioning bodily harm, a second choking charge and a second common assault charge.
In his sentencing remarks, Judge Bernard Porter described a “physical confrontation” between Johnston and his then partner at about midnight on June 30, 2018, which resulted in Johnston choking her enough to interfere with her breathing.
When the woman’s daughter tried to intervene, Johnston picked her up and threw her down on top of her mother, before turning his attention back to his partner by putting his foot on her head “with some force”.
Johnston was given a head sentence of two years’ jail, with a parole eligibility date set for February 10, 2022.
5. Young Gympie region father sentenced to jail for supplying meth
Separating from his three children was the “catalyst” for a young Gympie region father getting caught up with methamphetamine, the Gympie District Court heard.
Jason Ronald Dunn, 33, faced the court on Wednesday afternoon, pleading guilty to one charge of unlawfully supplying the drug to another person in November 2019.
Jason Ronald Dunn faced the Gympie District Court, pleading guilty to supplying methamphetamine in 2019.
Crown Prosecutor Stephanie Gallagher told the court time in custody was a sentence within range for Dunn’s offending, but could have been wholly suspended.
Dunn’s lawyer Chris Anderson said his client’s involvement with supplying meth had been “minor”, but conceded the amount he was caught with was significant.
Judge Bernard Porter sentenced Dunn to 12 months’ jail, suspended immediately for an operational period of three years.
6. ‘Two black eyes and bruising to the jaw’: Man used electrical cord to attack woman
Gympie man Douglas Seaman was sentenced to three years jail on Monday after being convicted over a bloody and brutal attack that involved a steam mop cord, and which left a woman with two black eyes, multiple bruising to her right jaw, and bruising over her back and shoulders.
Seaman, 45, faced Gympie District Court via video link from custody where he had spent the previous 338 days.
He pleaded guilty to assault occasioning bodily harm, possession of a weapon and breaching bail.
Crown Prosecutor Stephanie Gallagher said Seaman assaulted the woman by punching her several times in the face and body, before tying her hands behind her back with a steam mop cord.
“(He) ...pushed his hand against her neck forcefully, and squeezed her neck in a way that led to bruises but did not restrict her breathing,” the court heard.
Seaman was sentenced to three years in jail but was released on parole on Monday, having already served 338 days in custody.
7. Undercover police sting nets Gympie drug dealers
Two Gympie region men who were the target of an undercover police sting in 2020 fronted Gympie District Court on Tuesday to be sentenced for supplying dangerous drugs throughout Gympie and the Sunshine Coast.
John Stefan Konkol, 50, and Jason Troy Straun Robertson, 38, both pleaded guilty to supplying methamphetamine.
Konkol pleaded guilty to supplying a dangerous drug, and possessing a dangerous drug and utensil.
Robertson pleaded guilty to two counts of supplying a dangerous drug, and one count of possessing anything used to carry out a crime.
Judge Bernard Porter told the court two officers posed as potential customers to Konkol and Robertson, and said they were interested in buying methylamphetamine from the men.
Konkol was fined $1000, and Robertson was sentenced to 15 months jail.
Robertson was released on parole immediately, and placed on three years probation.
8. ‘She was quite sexualised’ claimed paedophile stepdad while pleading guilty
A 60-year-old Gympie region man fronted Gympie District Court on charges relating to the sexual assault of his young stepdaughter.
The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to two charges of indecent treatment of a child under 16, under 12 and under his care.
There were tears in the gallery as his crimes against the young girl were read out.
Crown Prosecutor Stephanie Gallagher told the court the man originally gave a false version of events in the hope of receiving a lesser sentence.
Ms Gallagher said the defendant had said the victim was quite sexualised, despite being under the age of 12.
Judge Bernard Porter acknowledged the offences involved forceful touching.
A victim impact statement from the victim’s biological father detailed the effect the crimes had on the victim. The man was sentenced to nine months in jail with three years probation, which will be suspended after serving three months behind bars.
9. Busted drug trafficker had 5 weeks to go on parole
A convicted drug trafficker has escaped serious repercussions after being busted for drug crimes only five weeks out from the end of a two-year Supreme Court parole sentence.
Melissa Ann Jack, of Cooroibah, was picked up by police about midnight at Woolgar Road on Gympie’s Southside on January 2, during a random roadside breath test.
Gympie Magistrates Court heard methamphetamine was found in her saliva; a search of her car then turned up a small black box containing an ice pipe and two clip seal bags.
Jack pleaded guilty to driving with a drug in her system and possessing a drug-related utensil.
She was fined $800 and disqualified her from driving for one month.
10. Blind drunk mum blew .262% after crashing near Gympie
A 28-year-old Chatsworth mother has lost her licence for a year after she crashed her car while more than five times the legal limit.
Tailor Louise Kate Wood recorded a BAC of .262 in a blood test after she wrecked her car while driving along Fritz Road about 10.30pm on March 22.
Gympie’s police prosecutor told the Magistrates Court the last thing Wood remembered “was drinking at a friend’s place that afternoon”.
He disqualified her from driving for a year and fined her $1500.
11. Gympie coward jailed after strangling his partner with a dog lead
A Gympie region man strangled his then-partner with a dog lead until she fell to the ground and gasped for air as part of a vile streak of domestic violence offences against her last year.
Dylan Neil Janke, 28, faced the Gympie District Court on a charge of strangulation in a domestic setting, two counts of assault occasioning bodily harm while armed, three counts of breaching a domestic violence order and one of attempting to pervert the course of justice, among other offences.
The court heard Janke’s then-partner took out a DVO against him in the Gympie Magistrates Court last February, barring Janke from coming within 100m of her home without her express consent.
On June 8 last year, the woman consented to Janke being in the house with her, but he threw a candle holder at her as she got out of bed to get away from him following an argument between the pair.
Later that day Janke’s outburst continued, this time when he threw a bowl at the victim’s head.
The next day the pair got into another argument before Janke approached the victim and strangled her with a dog lead “for about five seconds”, according to Judge Bernard Porter’s summary of the offending.
The victim fell to the ground, couldn’t breathe and gasped for air while Janke stood over her and continued to verbally abuse her, the court heard.
Janke was given a head sentence of four years’ jail, with his existing time in custody taken into account.
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