Man held ‘ex’ captive

He ‘lost it’ after finding his ‘ex’ with her ‘ex’: Toowoomba court

A 29-YEAR-OLD man who “lost it” after spotting his “ex” in a car with her “ex” had driven the woman around Toowoomba against her will and assaulted her, the city’s District Court has heard.

Brodie John Bligh had been with the woman about five months when he went to Roma for a couple of weeks to work, the court heard.

When he returned she told him their relationship was at an end and he asked to stay the night in Toowoomba before driving to Brisbane to see family the next day.

However, when he saw his ex arriving home in a car driven by her former partner on June 27, he had “lost it”, his barrister Frank Martin told the court.

After the pair alighted from the vehicle, Bligh got into the driver’s seat and before the woman could close the front passenger side door, he had driven off at speed which slammed her door shut.

He had then driven erratically around the streets of Toowoomba, refusing to stop and let her out, punched her in the face and grabbed her by the jaw, the court heard.

Bligh had spent the ensuing 140 days in custody before appearing in court to plead guilty to dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, deprivation of liberty, assault occasioning bodily harm and common assault.

Mr Martin told the court the 140 days had been his client’s first time in custody but he had used it well and had done some courses to better himself.

It was his client’s intention upon his release to move to Brisbane to live with his mother and care for two of his three sons.

Judge Dennis Lynch QC sentenced Bligh to 18 months imprisonment but ordered the term be suspended after the 140 days he had already served with the balance to hang over his head for two years.

Bligh was disqualified from driving for the mandatory six months on the dangerous driving offence.