Suspended sentence for former bikie after pleading guilty charge before commencement of trial

The victim of an assault by the father of her children at the headquarters of an outlaw motorcycle club five years ago has provided a letter of support for her attacker. From court >>

Burnie Supreme and Magisterial Courts

A former bikie has avoided jail for assaulting the mother of his three children at the clubrooms of an outlaw motorcycle club.

Daniel Reginald Clarke, 35, had initially pleaded not guilty to a charge of persistent family violence, and a trial jury was empanelled to hear the matter in the Supreme Court in Burnie.

However, before the opening addresses, the prosecution and defence reached an agreement in which Clarke pleaded guilty to one count of criminal code assault.

During sentencing, Justice Tamara Jago said in 2019, he and his then-partner of nine years – whom he had three daughters with – had been having “constant arguments”.

“A point of tension was the amount of time you were spending at an outlaw motorcycle club.”

Justice Jago said.

One evening in August 2019, Clarke’s partner took herself and her three children to visit him at the bikie clubhouse at East Devonport.

“When you saw her arrive, you approached the vehicle and asked her what she was doing there,” Justice Jago said.

“She responded, ‘What do you think I am doing here? Can you just come home?’”

A verbal argument occurred between the pair before Clarke reached into the car, grabbed her by the head, and pressed his thumb into her left eye.

“The children were in the car with her. They observed your violence towards their mother,” Justice Jago said.

“They screamed. She ran from the vehicle, and you chased her.

“You pushed her up against a wire fence and held her by the throat with one hand and pressed your other hand onto the side of her neck.

“You were shouting at her whilst you did this. She was pushed back hard against the fence. “Eventually, she broke free and ran back to the car.”

Justice Jago said the woman did not report the incident to police until June 2020.

“I suspect that had a lot to do with the fact you had sent her a number of threatening text messages, including messages which suggested you would “get” her father and brother if she called the police.

“You also sent a message to the effect of ‘you do that, and I get charged and see what happens. I will give you a reason to have me charged…’.

“On another occasion during a telephone call with her, you made a threat suggesting all you needed to do was ‘make one phone call.”

However, since the crime five years ago, Justice Jago said the pair had repaired things to the extent that they “now share an amicable relationship as co-parents”.

The woman also provided a letter of support for Clarke to his defence lawyers.

Justice Jago handed down a 10-month suspended sentence to Clarke, provided he does not commit a crime punishable by imprisonment for two years.