Man jailed for domestic violence

History of breaching domestic violence orders goes against defendant

A HISTORY of breaching domestic violence orders went against a Toowoomba man jailed by a city court for his most recent offending.

The 31-year-old, who is not named to protect the identity of the woman victim, had spent the week in custody after being arrested at the woman’s Toowoomba home in the early hours of Sunday.

Toowoomba Magistrates Court heard police had been called to the woman’s home about 2.30am Sunday on a report of a disturbance and arrived to find the man in the front yard confronting another man.

After police separated the two men, the defendant complained that he had arrived at the home to see his children only to find a group of people there drinking alcohol and “smoking yarni” (marijuana).

However, the woman told police her estranged partner had arrived in a taxi and started yelling.

She complained he had gone to assault her but other people in the house had ushered him outside where he started banging on windows before becoming involved in a confrontation with an 18-year-old man, the court heard.

The man appeared in custody to plead guilty to committing a public nuisance and breaching a domestic violence order.

His solicitor Claire Graham told the court her client had been in a relationship with the woman since 2009 and that they had two children together.

He usually visited his children regularly with the woman’s permission but he had been drinking alcohol on this night and hadn’t realised how late it was.

Her client had become angry when he arrived to find the woman’s family drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana, she said.

The man lived in Toowoomba with his sister but was working and providing financial support for his children and their mother, the court heard.

Magistrate Jason Schubert noted the man had 10 pages of criminal history which included “numerous” breaches of domestic violence orders.

Mr Schubert said he took into account the defendant’s concerns for his children but his response to those concerns had been inappropriate.

He sentenced the man to three months in jail but ordered he be released on parole on April 18. Mr Schubert extended the domestic violence order to March 2022.