By ALANA MITCHELSON
A Drysdale man on stalking charges has been refused bail overs fear for the safety of his former de facto partner and their children.
The 34-year-old appeared in Geelong Magistrates’ Court on Thursday to face four charges including stalking and breaching an intervention order.
The woman and young children had been under the protection of an intervention order since 11 November.
The accused made many attempts to contact his ex-partner between August and October last year, Leading Senior Constable Mark Wakeling told the court.
The defendant allegedly made phone calls at all hours of the day and night from several different numbers that police linked to him, Ldg Sen Const Wakeling said.
He also allegedly sent Facebook requests from false accounts created under family friends’ names and tampered with the victim’s email address and Facebook password.
The court also heard that the accused cancelled the victim’s credit card, falsely reporting it as stolen.
The situation escalated when the accused attended his children’s primary school on 19 February and requested to see them, Ldg Sen Const Wakeling said.
“He denied that going to their school was a breach of the order.
“On one instance, the victim was in her car stopped at a roundabout and the accused drove straight past her from her right hand side, waving and yelling at her before pointing his fingers towards her, forming the shape of a gun.
“When brought in to the Geelong Police Station for an interview he made partial admissions but denied trying to make contact with his former partner, stalking her or hacking her accounts.
“My understanding is that he had been using ice about two to three times a week approximately one month ago.
“I’m in daily contact with the victim and she said she’d be shattered if he was given bail.
“The only way she’ll get peace is if he’s in custody.”
The accused covered his face with his palm as the police prosecutor mentioned his children’s names before the court.
Police prosecutor Siobhan Daly opposed bail, arguing his release would be an “unacceptable risk” to the children.
“The children have been pulled out of school after the incident on 19 February,” Ms Daly said.
“They and the victim were moved to an emergency refuge and have since been moved to another location.”
Magistrate Ron Saines said the accused “failed to show cause for the granting of bail”.
“There’s no other order I could grant to further protect the victim or to further protect the safety of the children,” Mr Saines said.
The matter was adjourned for a special mention on 16 March.
