Andrew Stephen Lea Coome sentenced in Rockhampton for stalking

An ex-couple with a history reconnected for casual sex in Central Queensland but it rapidly went sour and turned into a stalking obsession.

Andrew Stephen Lea Coome was sentenced in the District Court at Rockhampton for stalking.

A Rockhampton man has been sentenced for stalking the same woman a second time, with a court hearing it involved 263 acts over a one-month period.

Appearing in custody, Andrew Stephen Lea Coome, 39, was sentenced in the District Court at Rockhampton after pleading guilty to stalking (domestic violence offence).

The court heard Coome’s offending happened between April and May last year when he was not allowed to have any contact at all with the woman.

This was the second time Coome had been sentenced in the District Court for stalking the woman - the first being in February, 2022.

When he committed the latest offending, he was on parole for the previous stalking.

The court heard Coome and the woman had reconnected to have casual sex.

“Initially it seems there was some consent for the two of you to come together and have sexual intercourse,” Judge Jeff Clarke said.

“But then... the (woman) told you that she didn’t want any more of the photographs and then you sent a series of text messages which were both harassing and abusive.”

The court heard that on April 6, 2023, the woman made it “abundantly clear” that she didn’t want anything to do with Coome.

But Coome continued to send her messages - showing his jealousy, accusing her of sleeping with other people, asking why she had blocked him, and telling her that he “missed her”.

Coome accused the woman of “breaking him” and sent her links to a Google photos application, telling her to show someone else a video of her which she’d asked to be deleted, the court heard.

Andrew Stephen Lea Coome.

Then on April 17, Coome sent the woman a photo of his erect penis, along with a comment.

The woman replied, telling Coome that she was blocking his number and didn’t want to see his pictures anymore.

He sent seven more text messages after that.

The court heard during the one-month period, Coome called the woman 238 times with his phone “on private” - the majority of these calls were not answered by her.

On May 5, Coome saw the woman at a local cafe and started to walk towards her.

She recorded the conversation which followed, where she said she didn’t want any more contact with Coome.

Coome said he was sorry and she told him she was going to the police.

Coome followed her to the police station and she went inside.

While she was inside the station, Coome called her asking where she was - she told him she was with police.

The following day, Coome contacted her again, saying: “You’re going to cop it; yeah you’re going to get it; yeah mate I’m going to cave your head in, your f---ed mate.”

The court heard during the offending period, the woman felt “very anxious” and she was not able to go out and socialise.

Barrister Sheridan Shaw said Coome’s mother was in court to support him and Coome intended to live with his parents when released from custody and get a job.

Ms Shaw said while in custody, Coome had completed a substance intervention course.

“He is remorseful for the contact he had with the complainant here,” Ms Shaw said.

“He has expressed that to myself repeatedly and he’s expressed it to his family members as well.”

Ms Shaw said Coome had a good work history and a strong motivating factor for him was his young daughter.

The court heard in the past, Coome had struggled with being able to control his mood and his mental health, for which he had received help from a psychiatrist.

On August 9, Judge Clarke sentenced Coome to two-and-a-half years’ jail, declared 288 days’ pre-sentence custody as time already served, and set immediate parole eligibility.

Originally published as Andrew Stephen Lea Coome sentenced in Rockhampton for stalking