eThe words of an amateur cage fighter who threatened to have the daughters of a former partner raped have been described as “one of the worst” ever heard.
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Magistrate Gregory Robinson described the threat as “one of the worst family violence threats” he had ever heard during the plea hearing of Carrum Downs man John Beirouti at the Ballarat Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday afternoon.
Beirouti faces numerous family violence related offences and is expected to be sentenced next week.
The court heard Beirouti disregarded a court ordered intervention order not to contact or commit family violence against the former partner, and instead assaulted the woman on a daily basis in front of her children.
Police prosecutor Senior Constable Sam Young spent 45 minutes reading aloud summaries of the accused’s offending, telling the court Beirouti held knifes to the woman’s throat and on other occasions held pillows over her face.
Senior Constable Young also told the court Beirouti had spat at, and punched the woman, as well as threatening to inject her children with the drug ice.
He said Beirouti showed no remorse during an interview with police and attempted to portray himself as the victim.
The court also heard Beirouti faces a number of burglary and drug-related offences.
When the accused was arrested in Napoleons last October police found a number of items which had been stolen from burglaries in the Ballarat area.
Senior Constable Young said some of the $26,000 worth of items stolen during a burglary at an Alfredton address last September had been located in Beirouti’s possession, as well as a $5000 trailer which had been stolen from Ballan.
He said CCTV footage also captured the accused switching the power off at an Alfredton property in September, before he forced open a window and took off with $10,000 worth of the homeowner’s belongings, including a model steam engine and the CCTV cameras.
Questioned by police about the stolen goods found in his possession, Beirouti said he had entered into an arrangement with an associate “Nifty Nev” where he would regularly exchange drugs for the stolen goods.
Beirouti’s lawyer, Manny Brennan, told the court his client had “done literally everything he can” to rehabilitate himself over the 179 days he has spent in custody on the matters.
Mr Brennan said it was the first time Beirouti had really addressed his issues, taking on every opportunity to participate in programs while in custody.
“He understands he needs to get on top of his issues,” he said.
“He has done everything he can to turn his life around.”
Mr Brennan said the violence related offending against the former partner had not been long-standing, and only occurred in the throes of an ice addiction.
Submitting a community corrections order was appropriate, Mr Brennan said Beirouti, who he described as a ‘model prisoner’, had been providing clean urine screens while in custody which indicated he was now clean of drugs.
But Mr Robinson said he needed time to think about sentencing options and indicated he was looking at imprisoning the accused.
“Surely (the offending) is up there with one of the highest examples (of family violence),” he said.
Beirouti will be sentenced on March 14.
