A serial family violence offender has admitted travelling from prison to his ex-partner's home, where he repeatedly raped the woman only hours after being released.
On Wednesday, acting Chief Justice David Mossop described the NSW apprehended domestic violence order in place designed to protect the victim as "completely ineffective".
"He believed the victim belonged to him," the judge said.
The 28-year-old man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, committed the sexual assaults while also in breach of bail and intensive correction orders.
Those orders equally failed to protect the victim, who the court heard lived for years under a cloud of fear and coercive control that negated any apparent sexual consent upon the man's return.
'You owe me'
Having served a custodial sentence for offending against the woman, and following 11 convictions for breaching protection orders, he told her: "I've been stuck in jail because of you, so you owe me."
"Due to the history of violence, the victim learnt to submit to the offender to keep herself and her children safe," an agreed statement of facts said.
"She learnt that if she stood up to the offender, it would lead to further violence."
In submissions, prosecutor James Melloy told the court the rapist attending the house early last year showed an expectation "that he was entitled to use the victim as he pleased".
"It can be inferred that he travelled there with the expectation that sexual intercourse would follow," Mr Melloy said.
The man previously admitted charges that included two rolled up counts of aggravated sexual intercourse without consent and seven rolled up counts of contravening a family violence order.
On Wednesday, he was handed a more than 10-year sentence in the ACT Supreme Court. He will spend at least six years and six months in custody as a result.
Before handing down the decade-long term, acting Chief Justice Mossop said the effectiveness of family violence protection orders depended on courts being willing to impose significant sentences for their breach.
'Implicit threat of violence'
Court documents detail a victim both attempting to stop or avoid several sexual acts, and eventually feeling trapped into letting them happen.
"The victim did not consent to any of the above occasions of sexual intercourse in the sense that her consent was not free and voluntary," the documents said.
"Any consent by her was negated on the basis the victim participated in the acts because of the implicit threat of violence or force by the accused, and out of fear of him due to previous abuse in the relationship."
The following day, the man twice went through the victim's phone and, upon finding out she had been speaking to someone, said: "I'll kill you and him."
He threatened he would "stab [them] both and put [them] in a hole together", before later punching the woman in the arm and breaking a toy bought for the pair's child by throwing it at a wall.
When he took her phone and she messaged someone "help" using her smartwatch, the man quickly texted that same person "don't worry".
At the victim's home, he would again rape her in several ways despite her clear verbal protests and cries of pain.
'Emotionally manipulative' phone calls
In jail after his arrest, the man made dozens of recorded phone calls to the victim, despite her telling him not to, at times while using fake names and with the help of third parties.
"They were emotionally manipulative and designed to maintain a degree of control over the victim," acting Chief Justice Mossop said of the phone calls.
The judge described conversations the man had with his children as "manifestly inappropriate" and "appalling attempts to control" them.
Following his latest sentence, the serial abuser now has 18 convictions for contravening family violence orders against the victim.
"What's worrying is there is a continuing disregard to court orders in respect to contact with the victim," defence barrister James Sabharwal said.
Acting Chief Justice Mossop said the man had shown limited victim empathy, was reluctant to answer questions about his offending, and was considered an above average risk of sexual offending in the future.
Factoring time already time spent behind bars, the man will be eligible for parole in September 2029.
- Support is available for those who may be distressed. Phone Lifeline 13 11 14; MensLine 1300 789 978; beyondblue 1300 224 636; 1800-RESPECT 1800 737 732; Canberra Rape Crisis Centre 6247 2525; ACT Domestic Violence Crisis Service 6280 0900.
