SUNSET ATTACK
A romantic trip to the beach revealed my boyfriend’s true nature
Jodi Lea, 30.
Iopened the door and a man with strawberry blond hair and broad shoulders gave me a cheeky grin. “I’m Nathan,” he said. “Here to look at your leak.”
Wow, talk about a hot handyman…
It was May 2021, and water had been dripping through my living room ceiling for months.
Finally, the housing commission had sent someone to look at it.
“Can I get you a cuppa?” I o ered.
“Wouldn’t say no,” he said and winked at me. Was he irting? Turns out, he was – as soon as he left, I got a text from an unknown number.
I got your number from the job sheet, hope you don’t mind, Nathan wrote.
After breaking up with my ex, the dad of my three kids, I wasn’t looking for love.
But the attention felt nice and I agreed to meet Nathan for a drink.
We started seeing each other casually, but
I noticed he was protective.
When I mentioned a man had turned up to t my living room lino, he arrived at my door within the hour.
“Just checking you’re not irting with him,” he grinned at me.
Not long after, we both caught COVID and quarantined together.
When our two-week isolation was over, Nathan moved in more of his stu .
One day, I was attaching my false eyelashes in the mirror. “Are you really gonna wear those?” he asked.
Often when I pulled on my shoes to run to the shops, he’d o er to go with me.
Soon, we were barely spending a moment apart.
He’d join me on the school run, to the doctor’s, even nail appointments.
“Do you have to talk to your ex when he picks the kids up?” he asked.
“It’s not nice seeing you two together.”
So I asked my ex to stay outside and said goodbye to the girls in the hallway before sending them out to their dad.
One evening, I got out of bed to let my cat in and a piece of card fell o the top of the front door.
“What’s this?” I asked Nathan, puzzled.
“I put it there to make sure you don’t sneak out of the house at night,” he laughed.
I smiled back, nervously, but it didn’t feel very funny.
Nathan had previously served in the Army and still lived by rigid rules.
“Breakfast is ready,” he called at 6am.
Next, he took over my bank details.
“I’m better with money,” he said. “You can have $25 a week.”
He even sold my sevenseater car, swapping it for a two-door version while I was out having a smear test.
I had no idea what to do. In some ways, he was lovely to me, but most of the time I walked on egg shells.
In August 2021, he suggested we go to the beach so I arranged child care.
We had a lovely time, enjoying a glass of wine as the sun set behind the sea.
Out of the blue, Nathan told me he didn’t like some pictures I’d posted to social media after a photo shoot I’d done a few years before. “I’m not taking them down,” I said. I was proud of those shots.
“Too late,” he laughed. I looked on Facebook and he’d deleted all my photos. Furious, I stalked o . But Nathan followed me, then he pushed me to the ground.
Next, he punched and kicked me in the stomach and back.
Every blow was agony. When he eventually stopped, I was covered in blood and sand.
“I’m sorry,” he said, bundling me into the car. “You need to take me to hospital,” I said shakily. Instead, he drove me to his house.
“Let me make it up to you,” he said, trying to kiss me. Battered and bruised,
I was hardly in the mood for sex, but Nathan wouldn’t take no for an answer.
After he’d forced himself on me, I lay in the bath just staring up at the ceiling.
When he nally let me go to the doctors, he sat holding my hand as I told my GP I’d been in a horse-riding accident.
I had a fractured elbow and rib.
Sadly, it was no one-o .
When I insisted on doing the school run alone, he beat and raped me.
On my birthday, he attacked me again.
One night, in October 2021, my ex picked up the kids, and saw me limping from the kitchen.
“What’s happened?” he asked me.
“I fell over,” I muttered. But he knew I was lying. “I need help,” I admitted.
I ed to his house and together we called the police.
I gave a statement but the police couldn’t nd Nathan.
When I nally went home, I found that Nathan had destroyed the place. He’d stolen my mattress, smashed up my kitchen and defecated all over the house.
e police and I hatched a plan.
Two nights later, I texted Nathan, asking him to meet me at a pub. He couldn’t resist. When he walked in, undercover o cers arrested him.
A year later, Nathan Giles, 34, was convicted of nine charges, including four of rape, two counts of controlling behaviour, sexual assault, attempted rape and assault.
e o ences were against both myself and a second victim.
Investigating o cer Det Sgt Darren Weston said Giles had “not accepted his actions” and was a “dangerous” man.
“ese two victims were subjected to horri c crimes,” he said. “What they have done has without a doubt protected others in the community from Giles’ predatory and abhorrent behaviour.”
Giles was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 17 years and four months.
at sunset on the beach revealed the devil’s dark side. He ruined my life.
I’m so glad he’s behind bars where he can’t hurt anyone else.
For support, call
1800 737 732 (Aust) or 0800 88 33 00 (NZ).
The police and I hatched a plan