The squeal a woman's pet rabbit made as her then partner punched it has been forever etched into her mind, with the injuries it sustained so serious it later needed to be euthanised.
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"She will never forget that sound," police prosecutor Sergeant Chris Manning told Wollongong Local Court when referring to the woman's evidence.
Gregory Hills man Roscoe Edwards was sentenced for a series of domestic violence offences on Tuesday.
The 33-year-old pleaded not guilty to charges of common assault, intimidation, and committing an act of animal cruelty in a hearing however was found guilty of all three.
Tendered court documents state Edwards unleashed an attack against the victim's pet rabbit in March by holding it by the ears and punching it.
He then twisted the rabbit in an "awkward" way, causing it to squeal, before dropping it on the ground.
The woman jumped over her pet to protect it and said: "Look at what you did". Edwards then demanded she give him the rabbit but she refused out of fear he would kill it.
She returned the rabbit to its hutch with its babies, however on March 27, it had to be euthanised due to spinal paralysis and emaciation.
Prior to this attack, Edwards assaulted the victim after he became irate when he ran out of cannabis on a camping trip at Gerroa in February.
He started yelling abuse at the woman when he asked her to take him to Shellharbour to pick up more cannabis.
During the drive, Edwards slapped the woman across the right side of her face, causing immediate stinging pain.
The pair returned to the campsite about midnight where another argument ensued, resulting in Edwards chasing the woman with a small flick knife while threatening: "I'll slit ya throat".
The victim locked herself inside the car while Edwards slept in the swag, court documents state.
The next morning, he told her to get her "sh-- and f--- off", so she drove away and left the site. He later asked her to come back and pick him up.
Defence lawyer Harry Lollback acknowledged domestic violence is "a scourge on society" however asked the magistrate to take Edwards' circumstances into account.
Mr Lollback said Edwards fell into drug use from a young age and suffered a workplace injury which caused his mental health to suffer.
Magistrate Mark Douglass said the matters were serious, with the intimidation at the campsite aggravated by the fact he was holding a weapon. He added the rabbit was "helpless" with the attack against it "founded on frustration".
Edwards was sentenced to a nine-month intensive correction order and fined $1000.
He was also sentenced to a two-year community correction order and ordered to participate in an anger management program.
An apprehended violence order was put in place to protect the victim.
- Support is available for those who may be distressed. Phone Lifeline 13 11 14; QLife 1300 555 727; Kids Helpline 1800 551 800; beyondblue 1300 224 636; 1800-RESPECT 1800 737 732.
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Grace Crivellaro
Court reporter for the Illawarra Mercury.
Court reporter for the Illawarra Mercury.
