Pregnant mum hit

Partner ropes woman around neck during horrific attack

A NANANGO man wrapped a rope around his pregnant partner’s neck and punched her in the eye as her young son listened to the cruel attack.

The victim was talking to a friend on the phone on May 25 when Daniel Jeremiah Malone began yelling at her and demanding she not talk about him. The Kingaroy District Court was told things quickly escalated into shocking violence.

“(Malone) punched the complainant in the left eye. She cried and (he) ridiculed her, asking ‘what are you crying for?’,” Crown Prosecutor Alysha Ballantyne said.

The 34-year-old (pictured) then wrapped a rope around the victim’s throat and pulled her toward him, also catching her wrists in the rope.

“(Malone) yelled at the (victim) during this assault, calling her a ‘pathetic b---h’,” Ms Ballantyne said.

The victim, who was 13 weeks pregnant with his baby at the time, was left with blood on her hands and face, rope burn on her neck and wrists, and bruising and swelling to her eye.

Ms Ballantyne said the victim’s seven-year-old son heard the attack through the door and came to check on his mother.

Malone was at the time on parole for assaulting his uncle and disqualified driving, for which he’d been sentenced to one year and nine days in jail.

His parole was cancelled and he was returned to jail on May 27.

Defence lawyer Catherine Cuthbert said her client claimed he didn’t know the victim was pregnant when he assaulted her.

“It will not surprise your honour that the abuse of methamphetamine is behind this offending, and that arises in the situation of some unemployment and boredom,” Ms Cuthbert said.

Malone pleaded guilty to assault occasioning bodily harm while armed with an offensive weapon.

Judge David Kent sentenced Malone to 18 months in jail, which will be suspended for two years after he serves six months.