By Cam Lucadou-Wells
A serial family-violence offender who punched and broke his then-partner’s jaw in front of her young daughter in her Hampton Park home has been jailed.
Colin Thomas Maddocks, now 39, pleaded guilty in the Victorian County Court to recklessly causing the victim’s serious injury in July 2019.
Months later, Maddocks – who was living at the partner’s address – smashed her property in a second “terrifying” act, sentencing judge Wendy Wilmoth said on 22 June.
He punched holes in her home’s walls, damaged her laptop screen and smashed her mirror.
As she ran terrified into the backyard, Maddocks shattered several windows of a BMW registered under her name, Judge Wilmoth said.
Maddocks claimed that the BMW belonged to him.
In a police interview, Maddocks – a father-of-three who was on bail at the time – denied most allegations.
He claimed the woman was the aggressor, attacking him and his dog.
According to him, he pushed her, she fell and her jaw broke against a concrete post.
Maddocks was also charged with criminal damage, breaching bail conditions and unlicensed driving.
He had been previously jailed three times for assaulting partners as well as criminal damage and breaching a family violence order.
The woman’s double fractures required surgery. Her jaw was wired shut and metal plates installed during her recovery, the judge noted.
Three years on, more surgery may be required due to her jaw’s malunion. She’s suffered an abscess and lost a front tooth due to nerve damage.
A defence lawyer described the relationship as “toxic”, marred by frequent arguments and drug abuse.
Maddocks’ violence was “heat of the moment”, according to the lawyer.
Judge Wilmoth noted his “complex”, significantly disadvantaged childhood, which was blighted by abuse, drugs and alcohol, family violence.
In 2016, he had to learn to walk again after a serious motorbike accident.
His meth abuse started when he took ‘ice’ for pain relief.
He was diagnosed with severe depression, as well as anxiety, bipolar disorder and PTSD.
Maddocks’ rehabilitation prospects were “not without hope”. In prison, he’d completed courses in drug abuse, practical living and emotional issues.
But there was still a need to protect the community. And to send a message that family-violence offenders are severely punished, Judge Wilmoth said.
Maddocks’ violence seemed to be caused by drug use, anger, lack of insight and lack of resource to other options, she noted.
“Whatever the cause of your offending, the complainant suffered severely.”
He was jailed for up to three years and nine months, with a non-parole period of two-and-a-half years.
Maddocks had already served 575 days of his term in pre-sentence custody.
