A Wangaratta man, who believed the city “had a gutful” of him, was given two months in jail following vitriolic abuse of neighbours and others who had protection orders against him. The 65-year-old appeared at Seymour Magistrates’ Court from Hopkins Correctional Centre on Thursday, dressed in green and jotting notes as he heard his 60-day sentence, with 23 days already served. He will also be placed on a 12-month community corrections order upon his release, despite being found unsuitable. It was an assessment Magistrate Olivia Trumble said was not a surprise. Defence counsel Geoff Clancy said his client insisted on being placed on the order to compel him to get help for his alcohol abuse. The order will also include supervision and behaviour change programs on the insistence of corrections officer Robert Parkinson, who deemed the man a high risk. The defendant pleaded guilty to continuous, “disgusting” harassment of multiple people in Wangaratta. Across incidents from April to July, the man was found to have yelled vulgar abuse at neighbours on numerous occasions and pushed a shopping trolley in front of a driving car on Ovens Street. On 23 July, a day after he was bailed for his offending, the defendant brought his neighbour across the road to tears when police arrived to another incident of abuse. The neighbour told officers he felt like a prisoner living inside his own home. Mr Clancy told the Wangaratta Magistrates’ Court on Monday that all of his client’s offending had occurred while he was drinking. Mr Clancy said his client had hinted at selling his home and moving interstate, which was confirmed by the defendant, telling the court “Wangaratta has had a gutful of me and vice versa”. Magistrate Trumble said a discounted sentence had to be given for an early guilty plea. “It’s very obvious to me the impact of the victim is significant and it would only have been traumatic to them to be cross-examined and relive those incidents,” she said. The victim was also present in court on Monday and Thursday. Magistrate Trumble said a not guilty plea would have landed the man in jail for six months and warned the defendant it would be “problematic” if he breached his order upon release, given his serious criminal history.
