"I don't care if I go to prison."
That is what a Canberra man told his frightened wife as he indecently assaulted her, warning he was going to keep forcing her to do what he wanted unless she complied with his demands.
His words may now come back to haunt him, with the man facing up to five years behind bars after he pleaded guilty to a charge of committing an act of indecency without consent.
The offender, who cannot be named in order to protect the victim's identity, had a large number of supporters in the ACT Magistrates Court's public gallery as he entered the plea on Tuesday.
Prosecutor Sam Bargwanna withdrew another act of indecency charge, as well as allegations of third-degree sexual assault and common assault.
An amended statement of facts shows the offender and his wife were home with some of their children when the incident in question occurred in June.
The man, aged in his 30s, asked his wife to sexually touch him, and she did not reply.
"Are you going to do it or not?" the offender asked. "If not, I will force you."
The offender subsequently began to do this, only to be interrupted by the children entering the couple's bedroom.
He escorted them out and quickly returned, angrily demanding again that his wife touch him.
The offender's fearful wife begged him to stop, telling him "this is not you".
The man replied: "This is me ... I'm going to do this."
He subsequently told the woman he did not care if she called the police or if he was locked up because "things are already not good for me".
The offender then performed an obscene act on the woman, who yielded to his demands.
The victim spoke to a church leader about the incident the same afternoon, then reported it to police.
After the offender was arrested, he spent some time in custody before eventually being granted bail.
The conditions of his release were varied without opposition on Tuesday, allowing him to return to the family home after he had previously been required to live elsewhere.
Special magistrate Margaret Hunter listed the matter for sentencing on October 28, and ordered a pre-sentence report at the request of defence lawyer Stephanie Beckedahl.
