A 41-year-old man has been sentenced to a total of four years’ jail for abusing his former partner. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
CONTENT WARNING: This article refers to family violence.
An entire day an ice-addict spent assaulting and choking his then-partner, including by threatening to “cave her skull in” with a sledgehammer, has seen him handed a jail sentence.
Early in the morning in October 2024, the woman woke up to the man calling her a “s-t” before he pushed her into a bedside table, pulled her back onto the bed by her hair, then punched her in the ribs.
The man put her in a headlock about an hour later, impairing her breathing and causing her to see stars.
He again choked her by grabbing her around the neck and pulling her up by her throat, forcing her onto her toes, then forced her onto her bed, lifted a sledgehammer over his head and threatened to break her toes and kneecaps.
He swung the sledgehammer towards her and said he was going to “cave her skull in” and “smash her jaw”.
He also threatened to bite her nose off before biting her on her head. He then forced her back onto the bed and knelt on her neck.
They walked to Specsavers in Civic that afternoon and when she was alone in the store, she asked staff to call police.
The man was arrested and went on to plead guilty to two counts of assault, three choking-related charges and one count of attempting to inflict grievous bodily harm.
The ACT Supreme Court’s Justice Belinda Baker sentenced him earlier this month, saying he engaged in a prolonged, targeted attack upon his intimate partner within her home.
“Whilst the victim was not seriously injured in the altercation, the potential for serious injury or death was real,” she said.
“There can be no doubt that the victim was terrified by the assaults.
“The long-term psychological effects of family violence of this nature are well known.”
The man was a talented sportsman when he was younger. He was selected for the Australian Institute of Sport’s rowing team and travelled to Brisbane on a football scholarship with the Broncos when he was 18.
But in his mid-20s, he returned to Canberra after an ankle injury. He started driving trucks, ended up living in his car and began using methamphetamine.
The now 41-year-old told the author of a court report that the drug ‘ice’ had been a significant contributing factor to his offending.
Justice Baker accepted he was remorseful and noted he had already spent more than 260 days in custody.
The man, who is not named to protect his ex-partner’s identity, was convicted and sentenced to a total of four years’ jail with a two-and-a-half-year non-parole period.
As this was backdated to account for time served, he will be eligible for release from April 2027.
If this story has raised any concerns for you, 1800RESPECT, the national 24-hour sexual assault, family and domestic violence counselling line, can be contacted on 1800 737 732. Help and support are also available through the Canberra Rape Crisis Centre on 02 6247 2525, the Domestic Violence Crisis Service ACT 02 6280 0900, the Sexual Violence Legal Services on 6257 4377 and Lifeline on 13 11 14. In an emergency, call Triple Zero.
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