By CAM LUCADOU-WELLS
UPDATED: 14 November 2016
The man referred to in the report below, Andrew Haugh, appeared before the Geelong County Court in September 2016 for a jury retrial of his case. A verdict was delivered on 20 September by Judge Felicity Hampel.
Haugh was convicted of one charge of recklessly causing injury and sentenced to a 12-month community corrections order with a special condition that he be supervised and assessed for alcohol treatment and anger management programs.
He was acquitted of the more serious charge of intentionally causing injury and two other charges of issuing a threat to kill and false imprisonment.
A CLYDE North volunteer fire-fighter is set to deny charges of falsely imprisoning, recklessly causing injury and threatening to kill a woman while holidaying with her last weekend, a court has heard.
In a bail hearing on Monday 5 October, 2015, Andrew Haugh, 45, through his defence lawyer, indicated that he would plead not guilty over claims that he violently assaulted and threatened the woman and then locked her in a house and hid her phone in his pocket.
He agreed, without admitting guilt, to a full family violence intervention order to protect the 40-year-old complainant.
Haugh and the complainant had been in a four-month relationship when they went to Peterborough, Victoria, on 1 October, the court heard.
Police informant Detective Senior Constable Bree Jarvis of Greater Dandenong CIU told the court that Haugh allegedly clashed with the woman the next night over a text exchange between him and his estranged wife.
The complainant had allegedly warned she might as well pack her bags and go home, and she put Haugh’s phone in her handbag.
Haugh – who had been allegedly drinking since the morning – then appeared to have “snapped”, Sen Const Jarvis said.
“I’m sick of this s***,” the accused allegedly said.
“You’re not going anywhere.”
The woman claimed Haugh pushed her to the floor twice, then dragged her by her hair.
Haugh allegedly held the woman’s head against a wall and grabbed her throat, telling her “I could kill you right now.”
The complainant told police she found it hard to breathe before Haugh released her and punched a wall cabinet above her head several times.
After he locked the house doors, Haugh allegedly refused to give back the woman’s phone because he believed she would use it to call police, Det Sen Const Jarvis said.
Haugh allegedly told the complainant that if he killed her “no one knows where you are”, the court heard.
After the woman told Haugh her mother knew of her whereabouts, Haugh allegedly said he could kill her as well.
She called police soon after being dropped home by Haugh the next day.
Det Sen Const Jarvis said Haugh, who had no prior convictions, admitted to police that he’d gone away with the victim but denied assaulting her.
She said police took photographs of the victim’s bruised and grazed forearm and knees.
Police arrested Haugh on 5 October at his estranged wife’s house where he was in breach of a full intervention order not to contact or approach her.
Haugh’s lawyer Jeisa Javor told the court the wife wanted to reconcile with the accused, and had emailed police to have her intervention order cancelled.
Ms Javor said Haugh was not a flight risk since he had no prior convictions, was a full-time sales representative and a 10-year volunteer fire-fighter.
Magistrate Julie O’Donnell said she was concerned that Haugh hadn’t been “taking seriously” the court-imposed intervention order with his wife.
She weighed the seriousness of the allegations, with Haugh having “no prior criminal history of any kind”.
Ms O’Donnell bailed Haugh on strict conditions including a night curfew, not to consume alcohol, to submit to breath-tests at the request of police and to reside at a specific Mt Martha address.
“If you contact the primary victim in relation to these matters you’ll find yourself back in custody,” she said.
Haugh was bailed to appear at Dandenong Magistrates’ Court on 26 October.
