Man who choked ex- partner sent to jail
A MAN who choked his expartner until she blacked out has been jailed.
The man, who can’t be identified for legal reasons, pleaded guilty in Townsville District Court last week to choking as a domestic violence offence and wilful damage.
Crown prosecutor Andrew Walklate said at the time of the assault the couple had been together for four months and living in South Townsville.
On June 23 last year, a domestic violence order against the man was put in place.
Two weeks later, the woman was at home with the man and his children, using her phone to comment on a Facebook post from her employer and ex- partner.
The defendant used his phone to comment on the post: “You’re nothing without him, you’re just a prostitute whore, you’re nothing good at your job and you’re worth nothing”.
The woman deleted the comment and unfriended her more recent partner. An argument took place.
“He picked up a glass of rum from the lounge and threw it at her, it missed and hit the glass louvres,” Mr Walklate said.
The woman ran downstairs and later returned to take photos of the smashed louvres.
“The defendant grabbed the complainant by her neck and threw her on to the ground,” Mr Walklate said. “She tried to get away … but he picked her up by her neck, turned her over, pushed her on to the ground and then against the wall.”
The man then started strangling her from behind. “She was in pain, she couldn’t breathe, she described herself as having blacked out,” he said.
The woman eventually got free and ran away to her car.
She picked up a brick and threw it to “scare” the man. He picked it up and threw it at her car, smashing a headlight.
Mr Walklate said the man breached a domestic violence order against his previous partner. In 2006 he faced court for pushing, punching and smashing the phone of the former partner. She required stitches.
Judge Gregory Lynham said assaulting women was “a despicable and cowardly act”.
The man was sentenced to two years in jail. He will be released on parole on January 18.