Man’s inability to move in danger ex-partner, says judge

A man who opened his ex-partner’s door in the middle of the night and rebuked her in front of three young children says she is the love of his life.

That statement, made by Levon Mark Wallace-Grant to a probation officer before yesterday’s Dunedin District Court ruling, was “troubling,” Judge Michael Turner said.

The couple had separated but the defendant seemed unable to accept that.

“Statements like that suggest jealousy, possessiveness, and an inability to move on, and that increases the risk for her,” the judge said.

Wallace-Grant had a history of domestic violence and had been involved in 17 family injury events since 2013, according to the court.

Yesterday, he was jailed for 14 months on charges of noncompliance with a protection order, theft, and violation of the release conditions, and Judge Turner imposed six-month release conditions that included the possibility of GPS monitoring to further protect his ex partner.

On December 17, after consuming alcohol and ecstasy with friends, Wallace-Grant formed the opinion that the victim had been seeing someone while behind bars.

In the early hours of the morning, he persuaded a friend to take him home.

Wallace-Grant slammed open a closed door and found the sleeping woman with her three children.

The defendant stood over the victim and verbally abused her, before picking up her phone and pushing her back onto the mattress when she tried to stop him.

The woman, according to the court, contacted the police pressing a security alarm that had been installed in the house.

In a court statement, the former Wallace-Grant partner said he had had enough.

His family feared for his life, he wrote.

A report on Wallace-Grant put him at high risk for recidivism and high risk of harming others.

Judge Turner questioned the example that the defendant was giving to his children.

” What kind of model are you providing them? Dad is no longer with Mom, but he feels entitled to come in the middle of the night to open the door, drugged, because he is jealous, ” he said.

Wallace-Grant had been in custody for almost four months awaiting sentencing.

NEED HELP?

If you are in danger now:

• Call the police at 111 or ask neighbors of friends to call you.
• Run outside and go to where other people are.
• Yell for help so your neighbors can hear you.
• Take the children with you.
• Don’t stop to look for anything else.
• If you are being abused, remember that it is not your fault. Violence is never okay

Where to go for help or more information:

• Ngā Wai a Te Tūī Māori and the New Zealand Indigenous Research Center and Family Violence Information Center are partnering to provide information on how to prevent and respond to family, whānau and sexual violence during COVID-19.
• Shine, 9 a.m. national hotline. M. A 11 p. M. Every day: 0508 744 633 www.2shine.org.nz
• Women’s shelter: the national crisis hotline operates 24/7 – 0800 shelter or 0800 733 843 www.womensrefuge.org.nz
• Shakti: provision of specialized cultural services for African, Asian and Middle Eastern women and their children. Crisis line 24/7 0800 742 584
• Not OK: information line 0800 456 450 www.areyouok.org.nz