Man jammed rifle in face of girlfriend

A TASMANIAN man who held a rifle to his then girlfriend’s face after accusing her of being unfaithful has been sentenced to a wholly suspended prison term.

In the Supreme Court in Hobart before Chief Justice Alan Blow on Tuesday, Stephen Thomas Hay pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, two charges of assault, one of destroying property, and two firearms charges.

The court heard on January 13, 2019, Hay, who was 29 at the time, and his then partner, who was 18, were living in a building on a dairy farm where he was employed.

On the day before the assaults, the woman went to a

JESSICA HOWARD

rodeo with a friend wearing shorts and a singlet.

The court heard Hay tried to persuade her “to dress more conservatively” and told her he had a rifle with two bullets in it and “if she did anything with anyone else, there was one bullet for her and one bullet for the other person”.

The next morning she returned home and removed the bullets from the rifle. The court heard a couple of hours later, he went into the bedroom, pulled the bedding off her, poured a pot of cold water over her head and said he had photos of her with other men.

She told him it was “all in his head” and started to pack her bags to leave.

The court heard he picked up the rifle, stood in front of her, and said words to the effect of, “I told you I would shoot you if you slept with other guys” and jammed the rifle barrel along her cheek and into her ear.

Hay stopped and the woman left to go to police.

Chief Justice Blow said the assault was “very serious” and “motivated by irrational jealousy”.

“The psychological consequences could have been far worse. This is a serious case of domestic violence,” he said.

Hay was sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment wholly suspended on condition he not commit any offence punishable by imprisonment for 18 months and he perform 160 hours of community service within the next 30 months.