- In short: Four women have given accounts of the abuse and coercive control they suffered while in a relationship with a Tasmanian man
- What’s next? The man, who cannot be identified, will spend at least 11 years in jail
In the beginning, Jason* was charming, gentle and caring — but when Amanda* and her two children moved in with him, everything changed.
Before long, he was closely monitoring where she went and with whom, insulting her and isolating her from loved ones.
Coercive control was at the centre of their relationship — with a court in Hobart hearing from three other victims of the same man.
WARNING: This story contains details of violence that some readers may find distressing
The Supreme Court in Hobart heard the 46-year-old man, who met Amanda through an online dating website in 2009, was particularly violent when he had been drinking and would force her to have sex, despite her resistance or obvious distress.
“He was rougher if I was protesting, so I soon learnt it was safer and easier to be a rag doll,” she told the court.
Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Linda Mason SC said Amanda felt “trapped” and “feared the accused and believed she had no rights and no say in sexual activity”.
Amanda fell pregnant and gave birth to a baby girl in 2011, but the violence did not stop.
She tried to leave the relationship several times, and on one occasion she called police after he had been violent towards her and told the officers that she needed to take the baby.
“The police officer told her she would have to leave the baby, and this caused her great distress … she thought she had to stay,” Ms Mason said.
Amanda left the relationship the following year after Jason held a kitchen knife against her throat and threatened to kill her.
She told the court: “After that night, I had a terrible thought that one of us was going to end up dead.
“I knew I had to leave for good.”
Amanda moved into a women’s shelter in the greater Hobart area — but a while later saw her former partner while she was with her youngest daughter at a shopping centre in New Town.
The court heard she managed to get herself and her baby into the car, but Jason followed her on foot and got in when she was stopped at a traffic light.
He broke her mobile phone and told her he would kill her for leaving him, before grabbing her by the throat and forcing her to drive to the women’s shelter to get the baby’s belongings.
Amanda raised the alarm as they drove into the shelter and the police were called.
In a statement read out in court, Amanda said: “My children became closed-down little people and had to receive professional counselling as a result of this.
“I have regular nightmares of being hunted down by him.”
Court told of ‘unrelenting verbal abuse’, threats and physical violence
The man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the victim-survivors, had initially pleaded not guilty — but on the third day of the trial pleaded guilty to two counts of persistent family violence, one count of rape, and one count of indecent assault.
He previously pleaded guilty to one count of assault, admitting he burnt a former partner with a hot iron in 2020 because she refused to have sex with him.
During a sentencing hearing, the court heard all of the women had been diagnosed with PTSD as a result of the physical, emotional and sexual abuse.
Kelsey* said his expectations for sex had to be met regardless of whether she wanted to engage or not.
She told the court how he poured petrol over her plants and destroyed them after an argument one night, and would threaten to kill her dog.
Kelsey left the two-and-a-half-year relationship in May 2016 after “unrelenting verbal abuse”, threats and physical violence.
“On that day, I thought I was going to die, I couldn’t save my family and friends if I couldn’t save myself,” she said.
Kelsey faced her abuser in court when she read out her victim impact statement, saying: “When I met him, he was charming, gentle and kind, but I saw change three months into the relationship when he became physically violent and cruel.
“The physical wounds heal, but the emotional abuse lives inside my head and never goes away,” she said.
The court was told another woman who was in a relationship with Jason for several months permanently left Tasmania because she no longer felt safe.
Charlotte* met him through a dating site in 2018 and moved into his house after the pair had been together for around five weeks.
Shortly after she moved in, Jason started monitoring her calls, insulting her and had certain expectations when it came to sex.
Prosecutor Madeline Figg said Charlotte did not have any privacy at home and was forced to keep the bathroom door open when she was in the shower or using the toilet.
Ms Figg told the court Charlotte was badly injured when he raped her while drunk, but she never sought medical treatment because she was “too embarrassed”.
In a statement, Charlotte said: “I left Tasmania because I did not feel safe there, but I had to leave my home, friends and most importantly, my children.
“I have only been back once and was so scared, I vomited.”
Court hears of cruelty to animals
Just a few months after Charlotte and Jason broke up, he met Sarah* through an online dating site and before long she and her 20-year-old daughter moved in with him.
Ms Figg said shortly after that, his behaviour became worse and he started to control her finances, alienate her from family and monitor her period and medication.
“He was cruel to her pets, which caused her distress, where he would keep them on a short chain and only feed them every second day,” she said.
The court heard Sarah attempted to leave the relationship yet struggled to find suitable accommodation because of her dogs and as a result of the pandemic.
She left in May 2020 and pressed charges following an incident where the man had burnt her with a hot iron in front of her daughter.
Sarah faced her ex-partner in court as she read her statement, saying: “Every morning when I wake up, I have to remind myself my attacker won’t hurt me today, I have to remind myself or otherwise I won’t get out of bed.
“But I hope [in time] I can finally breathe and be the fun-loving person I once used to be.”
In his sentencing remarks, Acting Justice David Porter said the crimes were “callous and at times brutal” and that the perpetrator “did not care about his partners’ wishes at all”.
“You used and abused these women as you pleased,” Justice Porter said.
The man was sentenced to 18 years and 6 months in jail, backdated to May 2021, with a non-parole period of 11 years.
Two of the victim-survivors in the court hugged each other after the sentence was handed down.
*Names have been changed
LoadingLoading…