Gaven Michael Coleman: Suspended jail term for Geraldton father for physical, emotional abuse of five children

A Geraldton father has avoided prison despite subjecting his five children to “serious” emotional and physical abuse — including threatening to kill them. Gaven Coleman beat them with a wooden spoon, spatula, metal rod and cane, and called them demeaning and offensive names, leading the judge to say the children would likely suffer a lifetime of trauma. The District Court of Geraldton was told this week that the 53-year-old FIFO worker had pleaded guilty to five charges relating to the children, who are aged from two to 12. The abuse occurred regularly over a six-month period between June and December last year. Judge Martin Flynn said Coleman would set chores for the four eldest children and would discipline them on their hands or backsides with a wooden spoon, spatula, metal rod or cane if they failed to do what was expected, argued or exhibited any behaviour he considered “unsuitable”. He would also pinch them. Much of the abuse, which left the children with bruises, was committed in the presence of the youngest child. Judge Flynn said the combination of physical and emotional abuse made Coleman’s offending particularly serious. “Those children were vulnerable. They looked to you to care for them,” he said. “I can conclude . . . there is a likelihood that for the lifetime of those children they will suffer an impact of what you did. “Although the headline might be a wooden spoon or a man that swears at his children, when one digs into the detail of what you did . . . the conclusion that I reach is that this is a relatively serious example of this form of offending.” Judge Flynn took into account the fact Coleman had suffered his own physical discipline as a child and as a result believed it could change a child’s behaviour “because that had been what had been done to you”. The judge noted since Coleman’s arrest in December he had shown remorse, engaged positively with counselling and learnt how to address his behaviour, making the judge “relatively confident” the child abuse would not occur again. The judge said a statement from Coleman’s partner indicated he was “not a monster” but “someone who likes to see yourself as a good family man, and in many ways you are”. “You made decisions to look after your partner when she was physically unwell after the birth of children,” Judge Flynn said. “You help out with other things at home, which are things which many people of your vintage don’t do.” Coleman was given a nine-month prison sentence conditionally suspended for 27 months. 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)