Jilted ex in court over harassment
AN INGLEWOOD man who had difficulty accepting the end of his relationship wiped tears from his eyes as he realised he would not be going to jail this week.
The 38-year-old pleaded guilty to breaching a domestic violence order that prohibited him from going near the woman with whom he shares children.
This was the third time this year alone that the man had been before the court for breaching an order.
The Warwick Magistrates Court heard the man drove past the woman's house on July 16 and yelled "I want my wife back" to the woman's new boyfriend.
When the new couple later left the property, the man followed them and confronted them at a petrol station.
The court heard the man was threatening and abusive and the woman felt "intimidated and harassed" by his behaviour.
When spoken to by police following the incident, he admitted his involvement and told police he was driven by his continued love for the mother of his children.
Police Prosecutor Steve de Lissa said although this was on the lower end of the scale, it was not an isolated incident.
The man pleaded guilty to two breaches of the order in February and in May he was placed on two separate suspended sentences for breaching the order on two occasions.
On May 14 he was sentenced to two months jail, suspended for six moths and just three days later, on May 17, he was sentenced to one month jail, suspended for three months.
"The frequency of the offending indicates something more serious has to be imposed and I think a period of imprisonment is pretty much the only option in this case," Snr Const de Lissa said.
Defence solicitor Ian Stacey said his client had received mixed messages from the woman and she had continued to contact him via text messages.
Mr Stacey asked Magistrate Graham Lee to place his client on immediate parole, to show him he must change his behaviour. Mr Lee conceded, sentencing the man to three months jail but paroled him immediately.
