Man sentenced after attacking romantic rival

A MAN ripped off a home’s security grill to attack a romantic rival, a Townsville court has heard.

The 34- year- old man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was sentenced in Townsville District Court.

The court heard the man went to an address on March 8 2017, where the woman he had been seeing was watching tele- vision with another man and he ripped off the door’s security grill and started punching the 51- year- old man.

Judge Julie Ryrie said the woman had previously been in a relationship with the victim and had “been going backwards and forth in effect between you and the complainant”.

“I don’t have to be a genius to work it out that you might have been a bit annoyed with the fact that he was over there when you were actually in the relationship, or so you thought, with her at the time,” she said. “If she wants to play you off against him and vice versa, you mightn’t like it and it’s not very nice of her to do it but it doesn’t entitle you to go in and sort him out as it were.”

Defence barrister Scott Geeves said the man was “thoroughly ashamed of his conduct”.

The court heard on April 21, 2017, the man contravened a DVO against the same woman.

He was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment for entering a dwelling by break with violence and property damage, six months for contravening a domestic violence order and three months for failing to appear in accordance with an undertaking. The man was released on parole on Friday.