Dubbo man spared conviction after harassing ex-partner with calls and a threat to burn down her house

According to court documents, the 28-year-old man and the woman had been in a four-and-a-half year relationship and were engaged to be married before it ended last year.

The incident unfolded in December 2021, when the woman attended a work Christmas event and her partner attempted calling her a number of times.

After the calls went unanswered, the man began phoning her workmates trying to get hold of her. This according to police caused the woman "great frustration" and decided to continue ignoring him.

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When the woman returned home, the man began yelling at her for ignoring him, and began accusing her of cheating on him calling her a "slut".

The next day, the woman told the man she was done with the relationship and was leaving him. Police said the woman told officers when talking to her the man punched the shed wall beside her head causing her fear she was about to be assaulted.

The woman later moved out of the home, but the pair remained amicable to discuss custody of their young child.

Over the next six weeks, police said the man began making hundreds of unreciprocated phone calls and sending messages to the woman - which she asked him to stop on several occasions.

The woman said on one day, the man made almost 70 calls to her, which police said made her feel harassed and caused her significant mental and emotional harm.

At one point the pair had a phone conversation, when the woman told the man he was no longer welcome at her house, when he threatened to burn her house down.

"Good, because if I ever come there and you have a guy over I will burn your house down," he told her.

After this the woman reported the conversation to police, telling officers she feared for her safety, and he wouldn't stop contacting her. She provided police with notes she made of the incidents, and gave screenshots of the call log and messages between the two.

The man was later arrested, where he admitted to striking the shed wall, but said it was a tap nowhere near her face and done in frustration, rather than intimidation.

He later admitted the woman had asked him to stop calling and messaging her on 15 separate occasions, and that amount of calls could be considered harassing in nature.

The man however denied calling her almost 70 times in one day.

Police asked about threatening to burn the woman's house down, which he told officers was said again in frustration and there was no intent behind it. He said that until this point he believed things were amicable and they could fix their relationship.

In Dubbo Local Court last week, the man pleaded guilty to using a carriage service to menace, harass or offend and threatening to destroy property.

Defence lawyer Matthew Quill said his client was aware he was before the court for serious matters, but came before the court as a young man with with no criminal history.

"He does say that he was confused and very upset about the breakdown of the relationship and didn't cope with it well," Mr Quill said.

"He said it was immature and selfish of him, and he didn't act in an appropriate way."

The court heard the man had now sought counselling and accepted the demise of that relationship.

"The court could be assured, and if you look at the references, all his friends and family say that it's out of character for him and unlikely he would reoffend," Mr Quill said.

Magistrate Theresa Hamilton recognised the offending was a result of conflicts that arose during a painful breakup, and accepted he admitted the threat to burn down the house was made in frustration.

The court heard the woman had since written a statement noting she does not believe the man has any dangerous intent to harm her of their child.

Due to his employment references, lack of criminal history and early plea, he was placed on a conditional release order without conviction for 12 months and fined $300.