"COMPLETELY and utterly disgusting" was how a Wagga magistrate described a jailed man using prison phones to make death threats against his partner.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Ashmont's Stewart James Hudson, 26, earlier this month admitted to making threats to kill his partner by jumping on her head or stabbing her.
He pleaded not guilty then changed his pleas to guilty to one count each of intimidate to cause fear and breaching an apprehended violence order.
Court documents state that Hudson's threats were made when he used phones in Junee Correctional Centre to call his partner between January 22 and 24 this year.
Five of those recorded calls, which were obtained by police under a warrant, involved Hudson repeatedly threatening to kill the victim. He also continually berated her.
"I'm going to kill you ... I'm gonna hit you with an axe," Hudson was recorded saying, according to court documents.
The charges were laid after a correctional centre staff member saw and heard Hudson making the threats.
The witness said "the calls were very disturbing".'
Hudson re-appeared in court via video link on Tuesday when magistrate Christopher Halburd sentenced him to a maximum of 14 months' jail.
Mr Halburd delivered a scathing assessment of Hudson's actions.
"To say your record doesn't assist you simply is an understatement," he said.
"You have an appalling record. This is a very serious example of intimidation, which carries five years' [jail] if dealt with in the district court.
"It's an intimidation in contradiction of an apprehended violence order."
Mr Halburd said Hudson was fortunate that the prosecution did not lay more charges and that breaching violence orders undermine a court's role in protecting society.
"It's necessary that the message gets out there - that there will be significant penalties for people who breach apprehended violence orders," he said.
He also said that it was extraordinary that Hudson pleaded not guilty initially because it was a strong prosecution case as the phone calls were recorded.
"It means you've lost a very significant discount by your decision to plead not guilty," Mr Halburd said.
Hudson, who is serving a jail term handed by Wagga District Court for previous offences, will start his latest sentence in June next year.
With a non-parole period of seven months, he will be eligible for early release in January 2021.
