Probation for 133 messages

A TOOWOOMBA man has been slapped with 15 months’ probation after sending a staggering 133 Facebook messages to a woman who police ordered him not to contact.

The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared in the dock of the Toowoomba Magistrates Court yesterday after contravening a domestic violence order. He pleaded guilty to the charges.

Police prosecutor Shelby Larcombe told the court the defendant had sent the messages, and made 16 phone calls to the aggrieved, knowing there would be severe consequences. The woman named in the order had not picked up the phone or responded once to the attempted communication.

“In one of the messages he said ‘every time I message you I risk another court date’,” Ms Larcombe said.

“He made admissions to police to making the calls to the aggrieved in a bid to sort things out.”

The man was also fronting the court on charges of possessing cannabis and a pipe.

Charges, his solicitor Sarah Jane Macdonald argued, came about after the breakdown of his four-year relationship.

Police allege officers found the drugs and utensil after a search of his vehicle in Grantham earlier this year.

They further alleged he had also been charged for failing to appear in the Oakey Magistrates Court this month.

His solicitor Ms Macdonald told the court her client had attended on the day, but came in the afternoon after court had finished for the day.

The man was given 15 months’ probation for all charges and will be required to undergo urinalysis.

The convictions were recorded.

“Realistically there is one option if you breach your probation and that is prison,” Acting Magistrate Andy Cridland said. “That is not a threat, that is a reality.”