Laidley dad Ajay Hughes fronts Ipswich court for holding woman captive, assault

A father-of-four held a woman captive at a home west of Ipswich in a drug-fuelled night of horror, during which he repeatedly assaulted her and threatened to stab her with a needle before she managed to make a desperate escape.

Laidley father-of-four Ajay Daniel Hughes, 33. Picture: Facebook / Ajay Hughes

A father-of-four has faced court for holding a woman captive in his bedroom overnight and repeatedly assaulting her in a terrifying drug-fuelled frenzy.

Laidley father-of-four Ajay Daniel Hughes, 33, pleaded guilty in Ipswich District Court on August 11, 2023, to deprivation of liberty, assault occasioning bodily harm, stealing, and four counts of common assault.

The court heard he had kept a woman captive in his bedroom overnight on January 29, 2022, in Laidley.

Mr Galloway said Hughes had shoved the woman onto a bed and assaulted her on multiple occasions throughout the evening.

He had threatened to stab her with a needle at one stage and had also hit her in the side with an unspecified object, leaving a scratch.

The court heard Hughes also stole $1200 cash from the woman, before she was able to get her keys and make her escape around 5am the following morning, January 30.

The court heard Hughes “didn’t recall” being with the woman on those dates when he was interviewed by police.

He was arrested and spent 547 days in custody while waiting for his sentence.

Judge Dennis Lynch noted it was fortunate for both Hughes and his victim that she wasn’t seriously injured.

“It’s clear that all of this occurred in circumstances of your drug addiction, and your paranoid state as a result of your drug use,” he said.

“The offences are not the worst examples of assaults, but it’s the period over which the complainant was held there and subjected to these indignities that is the significant, serious aspect of it.”

The court heard Hughes was originally charged with two counts of rape and two counts of attempted rape in addition to the seven charges he pleaded guilty to.

But Crown prosecutor Andreas Galloway told the court prior to the sentencing that the prosecution would not be proceeding with those counts, and Hughes was formally acquitted of those charges.

Mr Galloway said Hughes had a lengthy and relevant criminal history, which included three previous entries of violence.

Defence barrister Dan Boddice said his client had started using drugs at a young age as a means of coping with a significant personal loss.

His most recent period in custody was the first time Hughes had been clean while incarcerated, Mr Boddice said.

He said his client was thinking “very clearly” now as a result of his engagement with an Opioid Substitution Treatment program, and had taken “proactive” steps to reach out to other drug programs that he intended to engage with upon his release.

Mr Boddice said Hughes also wished to go back to being a caring father for his four children, who he noted had attended court to support their father.

Judge Dennis Lynch told Hughes he could “make (his) choice”.

“You’ve made progress in dealing with your problem. The problem is your drug habit – it’s obvious to me; it should be obvious to you,” he explained.

“If you want to continue to live a life recorded in that criminal history document – going in and out of jail – then you know how to do it. You’ve been doing it for long enough.

“If you want to live like every other ordinary member of the community and be a decent role model and parent to your children, then you’ve got to continue with the treatment program.

“If you don’t, you put your children’s future lives at risk.”

Hughes was sentenced to two years imprisonment, suspended immediately for an operational period of two years.

499 of his days spent in presentence custody were declared as time-served.

Originally published as Laidley dad Ajay Hughes fronts Ipswich court for holding woman captive, assault