A Horsley man who burned his wife’s face with a cigarette then deliberately urinated on her computer during a drunken, early morning argument has been ordered to attend anti-domestic violence programs as part of his rehabilitation.
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Joshua James Morgan entered a last minute guilty plea to assault and property damage charges in Wollongong Local Court last week on the morning his case had been listed for hearing.
He was fined $1,000 and placed on a 12-month bond, where he will be required to undergo counselling and treatment programs designed to address his offending.
Magistrate Peter Thompson said one of the courses in particular – a domestic violence program – would help Morgan find ways to deal with ‘friction in the family environment”.
Court documents said the victim arrived at a house in Dapto around 2am on March 10 to pick her husband up from a night out.
She discovered him drunk, leading to an argument between the pair, which continued as the victim drove Morgan to a nearby 7Eleven then back to their Cachia Boulevard home.
The victim told her husband she wanted to pack a bag a leave for the night, however Morgan stopped her from going inside the house by standing in the doorway, smoking a cigarette, and not letting her pass.
When she tried to push past her husband, Morgan put his cigarette out on her face, leaving a red mark just below her eyebrow.
The woman tried to call police from the garage, which had been converted to a home office, but had connection issues with the phone. The pair continued to argue over ending their relationship, prompting Morgan to unzip his fly, pull out his penis, and urinate all over her work computer, which was set up on one of the desks.
The woman was finally able to contact police, however Morgan had left the house by the time they arrived. She gave a statement to police and they photographed the injury to her face.
Morgan was arrested later that afternoon.
In handing down his sentence last week, Magistrate Thompson said he was concerned Morgan had limited insight into the harm he’d caused his wife.
“Up until this morning this was a defended hearing. You were going to make your wife get in the witness box and relive this incident,” he said.
