3 October 2016
3
A Star News Group Publication
Council candidates have their say
SPORT
Covering Endeavour Hills, Doveton & Hallam
Padding up for a new cricket season
■ Pensioner jailed for scalding partner...
Regime of abuse By Cam Lucadou-Wells
Celebrating with a roar! Doveton residents came together on Friday 23 September to celebrate all that is great about their community. Doveton cousins Blade and Andre were among the suburb’s younger residents who enjoyed the festivites at Doveton Neighbourhood Learning Centre. ■ More pictures page 7.
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A 59-year-old Doveton pensioner has been jailed for deliberately scalding his de facto partner with boiling coffee, smothering her with a pillow and threatening to kill her in a sustained regime of family violence. Gordon Austin was jailed for 18 months - followed by a two year community corrections order - after pleading guilty to four assault charges, threat to kill, intentionally causing injury and cannabis possession at Dandenong Magistrates’ Court heard on 26 September. Magistrate Jack Vandersteen said Austin’s consistent assaults - including two strikes to the partner’s face in the past year - was at the “higher end” of family violence. With a previous conviction for injuring the partner in 2010, it added up to six years of “abuse - verbal and physical”, Mr Vandersteen said. “If you assaulted (your partner) once (like this) you’d be looking at a term of jail. “At what point would it stop?” Austin - a cannabis and ice addict - was psychologically assessed as a medium-to-high risk of re-offending due to his lack of insight, Mr Vandersteen noted. “You’re a clear risk of re-offending if you don’t engage in treatment and rehabilitation.” However, Austin’s remorseless views on the incidents had tempered in recent weeks. The court had heard that in June, Austin had microwaved a cup of coffee to a hot temperature and screamed that he’d hurl it on the victim’s face. Austin then threw it on her leg, burning and blistering her through her pants. On 7 July, Austin accused the victim of seeing another man. He grabbed her by the hair, threw her against a wall, and spat in her face. “You haven’t seen anything yet. I’ll kill you,” he told her. On his arrest, he was found with 45 grams of cannabis in zip-lock bags. He showed no remorse, and was aggressive towards police, the court was told. Mr Vandersteen had earlier handed down a four-year full intervention order protecting the partner. Austin is due for release on 11 January, 2018. His corrections order includes drug and mental health treatment, and judicial monitoring.
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