Trinity Shane Parter convicted of assaulting wife in multiple violent assaults

A Toowoomba man wept in the dock of Toowoomba District Court after he was sentenced for a series of drunken violent assaults against his wife of 20 years.

After spending 189 days in custody a Toowoomba man wept as he learnt he had been granted immediate parole after pleading guilty to assaulting his wife.

Trinity Shane Parter, 47, appeared in Toowoomba District Court on Monday where he pleaded guilty to three charges of assault occasioning bodily harm and two charges of common assault.

The court was told that between March and May this year Parter assaulted his wife of 20 years at least four times.

Crown prosecutor Ellen Fletcher told the court the assaults included episodes of violence where Parter grabbed the victim and threw her down some stairs, as well as grabbing hold of her shirt and pushing his fist towards her face while making derogatory comments.

On May 10 this year while heavily intoxicated Ms Fletcher told the court Parter pushed the victim’s head into a railing and held his hand to her throat while abusing her, which saw him arrested and taken into custody.

Ms Fletcher said while the couple and their two children had a “difficult and nuanced” relationship the victim still supported Parter and was present in court for the sentence hearing.

Parter’s barrister Chris Wilson said his client had a long work history with a food distribution company, and had managed to keep his job while serving pre-sentence custody.

Mr Wilson said his client “didn’t appreciate” he had an alcohol problem as he didn’t drink every day, but the reality of his binge drinking had been “brought home in a very real way”.

Judge Deborah Richards said that alcohol and stress from work were “no excuse” for Parter’s behaviour and handed him a two-year prison sentence, setting an immediate parole release date.