by Cam Lucadou-Wells
A man who inflicted what a judge described as among “the most horrific” examples of domestic violence has been jailed for up to seven-and-a-half years.
The 46-year-old man – who can’t be named in order not to identify his victim – pleaded guilty in the Victorian County Court to charges including kidnapping, nine counts of common law assault and two counts of recklessly causing injury.
Sentencing judge Duncan Allen said on 24 May that the man committed numerous acts of “gross” violence out of anger mainly against his now ex-partner in 2020-21.
There were accounts of him smashing her head against walls, a bathroom sink and into steering wheels, using a jet lighter to harm and threaten her, punching her to the face, whipping her with rope to the face, tying her wrists and demanding her to get into a car boot.
“It’s not overstating the situation to describe your conduct as some of the most serious and in some cases horrific examples of intimate-partner violence I’ve seen,” Judge Allen said in sentencing on 24 May.
“It’s something any human being would never get over.”
The kidnapping – accompanied by “appalling” violence – occurred early on 7 July 2021.
The man drove his vehicle through the roller-door of a friend’s factory in Dandenong South and stabbed his friend with a knife as he angrily sought to find his partner.
He stormed around the factory until he found the victim and then kidnapped her in her own car.
He drove her down a dark, dirt road in Dandenong South, then dragged her along the road while holding a knife to her throat.
The victim was forced onto a railway line, where her attacker kicked her to the head and ribs and choked her.
She managed to escape, hide and dial triple-0. Police were able to track her due to her phone’s location, and she was transferred to Dandenong Hospital.
She required extensive surgery and more than 50 sessions of therapy for her fractured hand.
The man sped off in the victim’s car during a brief police pursuit.
Her car was found abandoned in Hampton Park, severely damaged with spray-painted insults about the victim.
The man was arrested the next day in Springvale, and has remained in custody for nearly three years since.
He was in breach of bail and a family violence intervention order at the time.
Judge Allen paid credit to the victim-survivor who despite the significant physical, psychological and emotional impact was determined to “leave the darkness behind”.
It was not surprising that she was still being treated with PTSD as a result of the attacks.
Meanwhile, the accused submitted a “genuine” letter-of-apology to the court, expressing his shame and “a level of remorse”.
Judge Allen noted that the man, for the first time, engaged in 58 hours of comprehensive counselling while he was in remand.
“It’s deeply regrettable that this treatment came to an end as a result of the Government ceasing funding (in mid-2023).”
Appropriate psychological treatment in custody and on parole was essential for the community’s protection and the accused’s reform, the judge said.
Especially where there was a clear link between the man’s childhood deprivation, his ongoing mental illness and drug addiction and his offending behaviour.
The man’s issues stemmed from serious sexual abuse as an 11 year old.
Since 12, he’d abused alcohol and spiralled into drugs such as heroin and meth.
“You’ve effectively been a drug addict since you were a child,” Judge Allen said.
According to his family, he had become “institutionalized” and unable to escape the cycle of drug abuse, mental illness, crime and jail.
His significant criminal history included violence, drugs and driving offences, but no prior convictions for violence against a partner.
Judge Allen said there was “some glimmer of hope” that the man would reform, including potentially while on parole.
However, a lengthy jail sentence was “unavoidable”.
The man was jailed for up to seven-and-a-half years, with a non-parole period of four-and-a-half years.
His term included 901 days in pre-sentence remand.
