Jailed for DV choke attack

‘You could have killed her’

A MAN threatened to kill his girlfriend before he grabbed her throat and choked her until she passed out and defecated.

A stern Judge Vicki Loury denounced Clinton Mark Dingle’s violent and controlling attack saying his confessions when caught could be considered a “warning sign” leading to domestic homicide.

“You could have killed her,” Judge Loury said.

“You were undeterred by seeing her lapse into unconsciousness.

“Even seeing her rendered unconscious a second time you nonetheless continued to choke her on a third occasion.”

Dingle, 29, faced the Townsville District Court on Monday where he pleaded guilty to three counts of choking, suffocation or strangulation in a domestic setting.

Dingle had been seeing the woman for just a week when he violently attacked her in her own hotel room on June 17, this year. Amid an argument, she asked him to leave and threw a basketball at his head.

Earlier that evening, he had texted one of the woman’s friends threatening to kill the woman.

Dingle walked over, put both hands around her throat, threw her onto the bed and held her down until she lost consciousness and defecated.

Dingle watched on as the woman regained consciousness and went to shower after realising what happened.

Crown prosecutor Monique Sheppard said Dingle had grabbed the woman’s neck again after she threatened to call the police because he would not leave.

“She has told the defendant that she loved him repeatedly in an effort to try and have him stop,” she said.

“But he didn’t stop and continued to apply pressure to her neck (until) she lost consciousness for the second time.”

Ms Sheppard said the woman woke to find Dingle on top of her. He then grabbed her neck again and choked her.

The woman did not call police that night out of fear of Dingle’s reaction and spent the night asleep next to him. Ms Sheppard said the assault was only reported to police when the pair reported to their parole managers days later.

When the brutal assault finally came to light, Ms Sheppard said Dingle told his case manager that he wanted to “control” the woman and to do that “he had to strangle her into submission”.

Barrister Dane Marley said Dingle had suffered a number of losses over the past 10 years including his mother, father and grandmother.

The 29-year-old suffers anxiety, depression and has a problem with alcohol.

Mr Marley said Dingle had expressed his regret and apologies for the victim.

Judge Loury sentenced Dingle to four years’ jail for each offence. His sentence is to be served concurrently.