Geraldton man gets 14 months jail for sending thousands of messages to former partner

A Geraldton man convicted of aggravated stalking will spend time behind bars after sending more than 2000 messages to his former partner earlier this year. Prosecutor Sgt Beau Jones on Monday told Geraldton Magistrate’s Court that Jone Navonowale Burewe had attempted to contact the woman 744 times through Facebook messenger on January 1. He sent upwards of 1400 more messages to her on two more occasions between January and April, breaching a family violence restraining order in the process. The 30-year-old also called his ex-partner’s sister in his efforts to speak to the woman. He was again in breach of the order when on March 30 he made “aggressive” comments to her about what she was wearing during a visit with his children at the Geraldton foreshore. His lawyer Karen Ward said Burewe had been using cannabis and methamphetamine “fortnightly” at the time of offending, when he had been struggling with the breakdown of his relationship with the woman and mother of his children. She said Burewe had “poor emotional regulation skills” and had in the past demonstrated a “tendency to blame others” for his actions. But the man experienced a “breakthrough” while going through the findings of his psychological report, according to Ms Ward. “He is a very different person… I have never seen anyone quite so keen to understand those reports before,” she said. Sgt Jones said Burewe “may have already started to make some steps” towards accessing treatment for his mental health issues, but did not think the man was ready to re-enter the community. “It is difficult to recommend community-based treatment… he is more likely to benefit from a more structured program (behind bars),” he said. Magistrate Erin O’Donnell told Burewe she recognised he was “interested in trying to change” but thought “it may be too soon to expect you to engage with treatment in the community”. She also said domestic violence was “quite widely recognised as a scourge in society” and sentencing must reflect the serious nature of the offending. Burewe was given 14 months jail, backdated to when he entered custody on April 7. He must serve seven months before being eligible for parole.