By Cam Lucadou-Wells
A Dandenong magistrate has told a violent family violence offender that their life-story was an “exceptional” tragedy during a sentencing hearing on 9 April.
The 32-year-old man’s litany of bereavement began with the near-simultaneous death of his alcoholic father and grandmother 14 years ago, Dandenong Magistrates’ Court heard.
It was followed more recently by the demise of his four-year-old daughter through a rare disease as well as his mother from cancer.
“Anyone who hears your story would have enormous sympathy for what you’ve gone through,” magistrate Jack Vandersteen said.
On the other hand, the alcoholic – who downed about a slab of beer a day – demonstrated he could hurt others around him, the judge noted.
In February last year, the man argued with his ex-partner after they drove to a bottle shop to buy bourbon and Coke.
He shoved her head into the car’s dashboard and punched her in the mouth, causing a fat lip, the court heard.
With a stream of abuse, the man attacked her again inside the home in front of her housemates. The assault continued on the driveway with punches to her neck and head, the court was told.
His yelling was so loud that neighbours stepped in. He screamed at them, and continued to strike the ex-partner.
Police and an ambulance were called for the victim, bruised to her face and neck.
The man was also charged several times with driving unlicensed, one count of speeding 20 km/h over the speed limit and one count of drink-driving with a 0.091 blood-alcohol reading.
On the latter occasion, he told police he’d been drinking bourbon; he didn’t know how much.
He told police he’d committed two petrol drive-offs earlier this year because he’d struggled to pay for his mother’s funeral in December.
Defence lawyer Farah Banihali told of how the man’s alcoholic father clung onto life support for several weeks after striking his head during a diabetic seizure.
On the day he died, the grandmother suffered a fatal stroke. The two were buried on the same day.
In 2012, the man’s daughter was born with a rare condition that malformed her face and brain.
She died four years later.
Mr Vandersteen noted the man’s youth, mental health and alcohol-related battles and his relatively “old” history of previous offending.
He urged the man to make the most of his work ethic, work opportunities and stable accommodation.
“The scales are tipped in favour of you,” he said.
“Your family live on through you.
“In the courts, we hear stories of how people get in trouble. Yours is exceptional, I have to say, but you need to engage.”
The man had been arrested the preceding weekend, and had probably suffered during his three days in custody due to alcohol withdrawal, Mr Vandersteen noted.
He was sentenced to a 12-month treatment-based community corrections order with conviction, as well as an 18-month loss of driving licence.
