Bail was refused for a 42-year-old man who faces a charge of grievous bodily harm. Photo: Albert McKnight.
CONTENT WARNING: This article refers to alleged family violence.
A woman allegedly had her teeth knocked out by her brother during an incident on the weekend.
The ACT Magistrates Court heard that an alleged altercation between the two siblings on Sunday (1 February) ended with the sister losing several of her teeth.
The brother faced the court on Wednesday (4 February) charged with one count of recklessly inflicting grievous bodily harm.
The 42-year-old applied for bail and his lawyer, Legal Aid’s Sam Collett, said the issue of self-defence was clearly raised on the allegations.
He also said police claimed his client fled on the night, but his client said he hadn’t fled, he just left the residence.
Mr Collett said his client’s partner gave birth to their baby several days ago, and he argued that bail conditions could be imposed that would mean the brother could not go near or contact his sister.
The lawyer accepted the allegations were very serious, but said his client had never been convicted of family violence-related offences before.
The prosecutor, who opposed bail, said the sister had expressed concerns for her safety and feared her brother might return to the residence.
He argued that the court could not be satisfied that the bail conditions would mitigate the risks to the sister.
Magistrate James Lawton said the circumstances of the alleged offence were serious.
He said it seemed there may be some issue of self-defence to be determined, but he was satisfied there was a risk the brother may not appear before the court or may interfere with evidence if he was granted bail.
Bail was refused, and the brother, who is not named to protect his sister’s identity, was remanded in custody to appear in court again on 27 February. No plea was entered.
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 on 02 6280 0900, the Sexual Violence Legal Services on 6257 4377 and Lifeline on 13 11 14. In an emergency, call triple zero.
If you have been affected by sexual violence, or someone you know has, you can report it to police by attending a police station or phoning 131 444.
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