Woman, child in car knife terror

A MAN who pulled a knife on a woman while he held her and a child prisoner in a moving car has been jailed for at least 12 months.

Travis Wilson, 29, pleaded guilty to two charges of false imprisonment in a Geelong County Court sentencing hearing yesterday.

The former abattoir worker forced a woman to drive for nearly 45 minutes, some at knifepoint, before taking off with an unrestrained child in the back seat.

Wilson was only stopped when the police air wing tracked the car he was driving, allowing highway patrol members to eventually stop and arrest Wilson on the Princes Freeway.

The court heard Wilson showed up at the victim’s house on June 9, 2017, and saw the woman sitting in her car with a child in the back seat.

The woman was playing with her radio when Wilson opened the door, got in and ordered she start the car and drive to Melbourne.

Judge Graeme Hicks said the victim was scared when Wilson “demanded she drive to the Geelong Ring Road”.

She followed Wilson’s orders but then left the Princes Freeway at the Lara exit because she had family in the area who she thought might be able to help, Judge Hicks said.

Angered by this, Wilson pulled a knife and shouted, “I’m going to slash your face up”. The infant was still in the back seat.

Judge Hicks said the victim was “very scared” for herself and her child and drove to a nearby APCO petrol station to get help.

When the woman tried to leave the car, “you (Wilson) grabbed her jumper and demanded she drive away from APCO,” Judge Hicks said.

“She drove to a Lara shopping centre and tried to get help and flee.”

Judge Hicks said the victim saw a man loading shopping into his car and ran out of her own car for help. When she tried to unbuckle the child from the booster seat, Wilson ripped her jumper, shut the back door, got in the driver’s seat and took off with the unrestrained child.

The victim reported the matter to police, who used the air wing to track her vehicle.

When Wilson was eventually stopped by officers he was arrested and the child was not physically harmed.

In sentencing Wilson, Judge Hicks acknowledged Wilson’s remorse but said the offences were very serious. He said the father-of-four had three previous assault charges.

“My opinion is your prospect of rehabilitation is cloudy,” Judge Hicks said.

In giving Wilson an 18month prison sentence, with a minimum of 12 months, Judge Hicks said the sentence must deter others from committing acts of violence.