A Lake Illawarra man has admitted terrorising his ex-partner and breaking into her house after sending her a series of threatening text messages.
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Jacob Nyrhinen and the victim were in a relationship for 12 years that ended in 2015, however Nyrhinen continued to try and dominate the woman's life.
Documents tendered to Wollongong Local Court on Wednesday said Nyrhinen still had a key to the house and had an electronic doorbell installed at the front door after he'd moved out. The doorbell could be accessed remotely and included audio and video functions.
The victim told police Nyrhinen began to display threatening behaviour towards her from about September 2019, including sending her text messages which read "I'll beat you" and "you're dead".
She said she noticed in early December that the electronic doorbell had been placed on a table near the front door and realised Nyrhinen was using the device to listen to her conversations inside the house.
On the evening of December 11, Nyrhinen rang the victim on his mobile phone and accused her of speaking to another man.
She said she heard Nyrhinen at her front door a few moments later and he told her "I'm at the door, open it or I'm going to kick it in".
He gained access to the house, prompting the woman to beg him "please leave, just go...I'm not lying, I've got no reason to lie to you".
Nyrhinen then pushed victim and hit her in the chin, causing her to fall to the ground.
Nyrhinen continued walking around the house then called one of victim's friends, asking her who his ex had been speaking to.
"I've been listening to her having conversations with people," he said.
The friend hung up on Nyrhinen and contacted Lake Illawarra Police and the victim's two brothers.
The brothers turned up at the house just before 10.30pm and had words with Nyrhinen, who then left the house. Police arrived a few minutes later and took a statement from the victim.
Meanwhile, the woman had the locks at the house changed the following day.
However, Nyrhinen again turned up at the house later that evening and forced his way inside by breaking the new lock.
The victim's same friend was on the phone to her at the time, heard Nyrhinen in the background and again contacted police.
Officers arrived just after 9pm and arrested Nyrhinen. They discovered 0.87grams of heroin inside his backpack.
He was taken to Lake Illawarra Police Station and charged with aggravated break and enter, assault and possessing a prohibited drug, to which he pleaded guilty on Wednesday.
The court heard Nyrhinen had been remanded in custody at the time of his arrest but released on Supreme Court bail in February to attend a live-in drug rehabilitation program.
However, he told counsellors at the treatment facility he did not believe he had an underlying drug problem and shouldn't be in the program.
In court on Wednesday, defence lawyer Matthew Ward said it would be a shame for Nyrhinen to have to remain at the facility and take up a valuable spot in the treatment program that might be more greatly needed by someone else.
He sought to have Nyrhinen's bail conditions change to allow him to live with friends in Penrith.
Magistrate Jillian Kiely agreed and altered Nyrhinen's bail, putting in place a series of conditions that will require him to report daily to police, abide by a nighttime curfew and be subject to compliance checks by police
He will face Wollongong District Court later this month for a sentencing date to be set.
