Man rapes heavily pregnant woman, threatens to kill her and child

CONTENT WARNING: This article refers to sexual abuse and family violence.

Years in jail have been handed to a man who raped his pregnant partner despite her pleas for him to stop, before he threatened to kill both her and her unborn child.

The woman was eight months pregnant when the then-18-year-old man went out in December 2021 and took meth, cocaine and alcohol before he returned home and threatened to “smash” her head.

She went to sleep, but he woke her up, demanding sex.

She told him no, but he forced her to give him oral sex, then indecently touched her while accusing her of cheating on him.

“I felt very, very violated,” the woman said.

“He didn’t care that I wanted to stop. I kept telling him that I wanted to stop and he kept telling me that I had to keep going.”

After he left, she cried herself to sleep.

In the morning, the man became aggressive and again claimed she had cheated on him.

“You don’t deserve to have your kid,” he told her.

“If [the baby] is not my kid, I’ll kill you both.”

He then hit her in her face with his shoe and she screamed until police arrived.

On Wednesday (7 May), Justice David Mossop told the ACT Supreme Court the man “behaved in an emotionally manipulative manner” during the incident, including telling the woman, “Obviously you don’t love me”.

He also said the man demonstrated paranoid or controlling behaviour towards the woman and was obsessed with whether or not she was cheating on him.

He said the woman now had post-traumatic stress disorder and was afraid the man would hurt someone else when he was released from custody.

The man, now aged 21, started using drugs when he was about 14, was on Centrelink payments when in the community and has been diagnosed with schizophrenia.

He said his behaviour was “disgusting” and he wished it hadn’t happened.

Justice Mossop said the man’s drug use and mental health contributed to his offending, and his prospects of rehabilitation were guarded.

At the end of a jury trial earlier this year, the man was found guilty of sexual intercourse without consent and committing an act of indecency without consent.

Justice Mossop also found him guilty of a charge of assault.

The man was sentenced to a total of three years and three months’ jail with a one-year and 11-month non-parole period.

The judge said this will mean the man will be supervised for a substantial period on parole, which was important to ensure he complied with his medication and abstained from drugs.

He had already been sentenced to six months’ jail for a different assault he committed against his partner.

The man has been in custody since May 2023, and with time served, he will be eligible to be released in September 2025.

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.