By Dominique Tassell
Magistrate Virginia Sturgess reprimanded a man in court on 24 October, stating his behaviour was “classic domestic violence behaviour“.
The 28-year-old man fronted court for an incident where he went through his partner’s phone and called her various names.
His partner was also present in court.
The man came to Warwick for the funeral of his grandfather, which his lawyer said was very upsetting for him.
He started drinking as a result, though his lawyer stated this was “no excuse“.
His lawyer said that looking at his partner’s phone was very out of character for him, and said he a referral to go see a counsellor.
The man has untreated PTSD from a previous trauma in his life, his lawyer said, and shows remorse for the incident.
Magistrate Sturgess said she heard of people calling their partners these sorts of names all the time and doing these actions too often.
She said taking someone’s phone was very detrimental as it was a lifeline for people in these situations.
Phones are necessary to call for help or contact family, she said.
“This is classic domestic violence behaviour.“
Magistrate Sturgess said that “being at his grandfather’s funeral doesn’t give him a pass to treat his partner badly“.
She said if he can’t control his behaviour, he shouldn’t drink.
“It’s your fault, you’re the one who has behaved badly.”
The man was fined $800, and no conviction was recorded given he had no other criminal history.
