Ex-sailor given parole

Man guilty of vicious attack on partner

A FORMER navy sailor suffering PTSD after watching several colleagues die during a training exercise has been granted immediate parole over a violent attack on his former partner.

Christopher William Bishop, 45, was wearing steel cap boots when he kicked his de facto partner to the head, stuffed a sock in her mouth, held her up against a wall and choked her and dragged her down stairs during a “sus- tained” incident at their Irvinebank home.

Father-of-two Bishop pleaded guilty to two counts each of assault occasioning bodily harm and strangulation in the Cairns District Court yesterday.

The pair had been in an argument on September 21, 2017, which escalated to violence where they were throwing items at each other.

The court heard Bishop then kicked her multiple times to the body and head while wearing the boots before she hid in the downstairs bathroom of their home.

Crown prosecutor Nicole Friedewald said she came out after 30 minutes and locked herself in an upstairs bedroom as he shouted threats to kill her.

She said Bishop kicked the door down, grabbed her by the throat, lifted her off the ground and held her against a wall for about 10 seconds before releasing her and punching a hole in the wall.

He then pushed her on to a bed where he stuffed a sock in her mouth and used a tie to hold it in there.

He dragged her off the bed and down the stairs before she was able to break free and run to an upstairs veranda but he followed her again and punched her around the head while she crouched in the foetal position.

“He told her to ‘stand up and fight like a man’,” Ms Friedewald said.

She managed to get away and fled to a neighbour’s house for help and was treated in Atherton Hospital before having to spend two weeks in a women’s shelter.

Defence barrister James Sheridan said his client had no criminal history, but a psychiatric report found he suffered from several mental health issues including PTSD following a six-year career in the navy.

“He witnessed a tragic incident during a training exercise which resulted in a number of deaths,” Mr Sheridan said.

He said his client was ashamed by the attack and described it as “losing honour”.

Judge Michael Shanahan said it had been a “protracted” act of violence and sentenced Bishop to 18 months jail, but was going to grant immediate parole as he had no criminal history and due to his mental health issues.

“People who commit these sort of offences usually go to jail,” he said.