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A former professional athlete who coerced his then-partner into changing her statement to police three times will be released from prison.
The man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the victim, was sentenced on charges including attempting to pervert the course of justice in the Victorian County Court on June 18, 2024.
During sentencing, Judge Fran Dalziel said the justice system had to be protected from such actions.
She said the man was 18 years older than his then partner when he had coerced her into lying to police, and this had also occurred in the context of family violence.
Ms Dalziel also summarised the man's background, which included how he had been forced to abandon his professional sporting career in his early 20's after he sustained a knee injury.
She said the man had turned to drugs and alcohol after this blow, which had led to the breakdown of his marriage.
The New Zealander also faced deportation if he received a prison term of more than 12 months, Ms Dalziel said.
The man was sentenced to 16 months in prison, with this period of time already served, meaning he will now be eligible for release.
He was also fined $2500.
Earlier:
A Ballarat man is looking at a prison sentence after trying to get his former partner to recount her statement to police about his family violence.
The 39-year-old appeared at the County Court in Ballarat on Wednesday to plead guilty to a charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice, and two charges of persistently breaching a family violence safety notice.
He will not be named to protect the identity of the victim.
The offending began when the 39-year-old ex-partner, who was 20 at the time, reported to police on May 24, 2022, that she had been assaulted by him.
On May 25, 2022, the woman gave a digitally recorded statement to police which set out in detail the attack on her. Charges were laid against the 39-year-old on May 27, 2022.
The assault charges, which were separate to the topic of Wednesday's hearing, will come to the Ballarat Magistrates' Court on July 22.
On July 22, 2022 the 20-year-old woman went to the Ballarat police station and said she wanted to retract her recorded statement, holding a handwritten note with an alternative account of events on it.
In her new interview, the woman said she had been experiencing a drug-fueled psychosis on the night of the alleged assault, had fallen down some stairs and ran through buses.
She told police she had never been assaulted by the 39-year-old, and that she was under the influence of drugs when she made the initial complaint to police.
The 20-year-old re-attended the station less than two hours after the revised statement was given and said she wished to again amend her statement.
She then called the detective she spoke to at the station an hour later, and asked to alter her statement for a third time.
In the lead up to the July 22 statement, the 39-year-old had contacted the woman several times to coerce her to change her statement.
This included a message on July 13, where the man told the woman that she needed to get a letter signed by a Justice of the Peace, and that "you never do what is asked of you, just do whatever the f--- you want".
The man was arrested on August 18, 2022, and denied any wrongdoing in an interview with police. He has remained in custody since.
At Wednesday's hearing, the 39-year-old's lawyer William Barker spoke on his client's short-lived sporting career, and how an injury had derailed his life.
The lawyer said his client came from a well-known sporting family, and that he had wanted to follow in his father's footsteps.
At the age of 20, the man suffered a knee injury which effectively robbed him of what Mr Barker said was a promising career.
Mr Barker also said his client, a New Zealand citizen, faced the prospect of being deported as a result of his ultimate prison sentence.
Although the 39-year-old has New Zealand citizenship, Mr Barker said his client had spent the majority of his life in Australia, and had no family or support networks in the country.
Crown prosecutor Andy Moore called for a "tough sentence" to deter others from similar offending.
"Proliferation of this type of violence is obvious to the community, and in relation to charge two, which is basically a charge of a man leaning on a woman, his partner, to withdraw her true allegations, is a particularly serious matter," Mr Moore said.
"In the Crown's submission, victims should be encouraged to make complaints of violence and other conduct in a similar vein free from threats, pressure or emotional black mail.
"The interests of the community are best served by tough sentences."
The matter was adjourned to June 18 for Judge Frances Dalziel to consider the 39-year-old's sentence.
Affected by this story? There is help available.
You can phone the Ballarat Centre Against Sexual Assault, in Sebastopol, on 5320 3933, or free-call the crisis care line 24 hours on 1800 806 292.
Or phone Lifeline on 13 11 14, or the Blue Knot Foundation on 1300 657 380
