SMASH OVER AFFAIR

A TOOWOOMBA woman smashed her partner’s house and car with a baseball bat when she found out her own mother was in a sexual relationship with her girlfriend.

The 22-year-old thought her mother, a truck driver’s wife, had been supportive of her until she found out about the clandestine sexual relationship, a Toowoomba court was told.

She admitted causing the damage.

A 22-YEAR-OLD Toowoomba woman had gone on a rampage with a baseball bat after she discovered her girlfriend was in a sexual relationship with her mother.

The woman, who is not named due to domestic violence issues, had gone to her estranged partner’s home on October 10 armed with a baseball bat, Toowoomba Magistrates Court heard.

She smashed a window of the house and damaged the complainant woman’s car with the baseball bat before leaving, police prosecutor Rowan Brewster-Webb told the court.

The woman pleaded guilty to two counts of wilful damage (domestic violence offence) and to one count of contravening a direction of police.

Mr Brewster-Webb said the defendant had a history of offences of violence and was on a suspended jail term from the District Court for a charge of unlawful wounding which was imposed last month.

The wounding offence was unrelated and did not involve the same complainant, the court heard.

Magistrate Kay Ryan noted the woman’s criminal history included offences of assault police causing bodily harm, serious assault of police (biting or spitting) and other incidents of assault and obstruct police.

Defence solicitor Joe McConnell of Toowoomba legal firm MacDonald Law told the court his client had reacted after finding out her girlfriend of four years was in a sexual relationship with her mother.

Up until then, his client had believed her mother had been supportive of her, he said.

She had suspected something was going on but when she saw a mark on her mother’s neck she had contacted her father, a truck driver who spent a lot of time away from home, Mr McConnell said.

When his client split with the other woman, their two children had remained there, he said.

However, his client’s mother had since moved in with the other woman and his client was having trouble seeing the children due to those new living arrangements, he said.

His client was now in a new relationship with a new partner and she was in court supporting her, Mr McConnell said.

Magistrate Ryan said this was a particularly difficult sentence given the woman’s history and the seriousness of her actions.

“I understand the circumstances and how it occurred, but that is no excuse,” Ms Ryan told the woman.

“You have come this close to a term of imprisonment.”

Telling the woman she needed help with anger management, Ms Ryan placed her on the maximum available three years probation.