By CAM LUCADOU-WELLS
A CRANBOURNE North man has been told he was “on the footstep of jail” after labelling nearly 6500 calls and texts to an ex-partner in breach of an intervention order as “bulls***”.
The business owner had breached the order on a “daily basis” for two months since a family violence court case in July, Dandenong Magistrates’ Court was told on 9 November.
Police prosecutor Senior Constable Tess Davison told the court that no threats had been made during the 2391 calls and 4107 texts.
“I honestly think these are bulls****,” the accused reportedly told Cranbourne police.
The accused told the court’s sentence indication hearing that his partner had been trying to remove the intervention order.
“There’s never any violence. It’s usually about money.
“Basically, someone doesn’t get their own way, so this is a way of getting at me.”
The accused told the court his previous conviction for recklessly causing injury in 2004 related to his former crowd-controlling work, not family violence.
He said he would accept a sentence that day rather than re-appearing at a later date because he had five employees with families depending on him.
Magistrate Jack Vandersteen castigated the accused for “shoving aside” a female Victoria Legal Aid lawyer who briefly tried to explain the accused’s circumstances to the court.
He told the accused he would sentence him to a community based order, if the accused pleaded guilty.
He noted the lack of prior convictions and the man’s full-time occupation.
“A lot of people don’t agree with the law. That’s why they go to jail.
“I have to say you’re on the footstep of jail.
“But if you went to jail, you’d lose everything and be angry and upset … and potentially direct your anger into more breaches.”
Mr Vandersteen said it was irrelevant whether an estimated 4000 of the calls and messages were instigated by the victim.
“There’s an obligation on you. If you breach that, there’s consequences.
“If there’s not (consequences), then the whole thing is meaningless.”
He said the breaches well exceeded the usual number in such cases, which was between 20-40.
Upon pleading guilty, the man was required to attend a community corrections assessment ahead of final sentencing on 13 November.
