Warwick man Ronald Vidler sentenced over brutal bashing of sister

A bloodied and distraught woman said she was left with no choice but to make a midnight dash to Warwick police, after being repeatedly punched in the face and head by her brother.

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A Warwick man repeatedly punched his sister in the head and degraded her with abusive insults including “f--king dog”, causing the bloodied woman to flee for help in the middle of the night.

Ronald Lindsay John Vidler unleashed a vicious assault on his sister in January, as she tried to stop him entering her room.

The Warwick Magistrates Court was told the victim was staying at the home Vidler lives in with their father, while the older man was in hospital.

Magistrate Virginia Sturgess said the assault was “very serious”.

“She was going to bed about 11.30pm and she walked past you and you rambled to her, ‘You’re a f--king dog, you’re nothing but a dog, get out of the way you dog’,” Ms Sturgess said.

“She heard you coming towards her room and she went to shut the door but you were already at the door.”

Ms Sturgess said the victim attempted to calm her 50-year-old brother down as he told her to pack her bags and leave.

“You then punched her in the mouth, which caused her immediate pain,” Ms Sturgess said.

Warwick man Ronald Lindsay John Vidler has been sentenced for a brutal attack on his sister.

“You continued to verbally abuse her and then punched her twice with a fist in the right side of her head near her temple and ear, which knocked off her glasses.”

Ms Sturgess said the injured woman was “obviously quite shocked and upset” and sought refuge in the Warwick police just after midnight.

Vidler smirked in court as the magistrate noted he was verbally abusive to police later that same night, telling them to “f--k off” when they assisted the victim in retrieving her property.

The victim told police Vidler suffered from paranoid schizophrenia, and she had “no choice” but to report the violent outburst in a bid to force her brother to get help.

Sturgess noted Vidler had a “dated criminal history”, and had taken steps toward addressing his mental health and medication issues since being charged over the assault.

“I think he might benefit from a probation order just to keep him motivated to keep his mental health under control. It has obviously improved and the police and sister are saying the same,” she said.

“You need to keep on track with your medication and make sure you are the caring, kind and considerate person your sister knows you to be, and not this violent person who commits assaults on her.”

Vidler pleaded guilty to assault occasioning bodily harm and was placed on probation for nine months. No conviction was recorded.

Originally published as Warwick man Ronald Vidler sentenced over brutal bashing of sister