Robert Lionel John Ginger: No jail term for man who assaulted ex-partner and threatened stabbing with syringe

An Albany man who violently assaulted his ex-partner when he randomly saw her in someone’s front yard before threatening to stab her with syringes has avoided an immediate jail term. Robert Lionel John Ginger, 35, was walking in Lockyer on September 16 last year when he saw his ex-partner leaving the home of her friend about noon, police prosecutor Sgt Gary Simpson told Albany Magistrates Court on January 8. The pair, who had been separated for five years, began an argument about alleged infidelity in the relationship, during which Ginger punched the victim five times to the head and arm. He brandished three capped syringes he had in his pocket and asked her if she wanted him to stab her, to which she laughed. Ginger asked her what she was laughing about before punching her again in the face “with force”, connecting with her left eye and causing it to swell and bruise. Ginger was arrested and declined an interview with police. On November 27, Ginger was released on bail on the condition he not approach or contact the victim — an order he breached on December 19, when he was found hiding in the same room of the Lockyer home the victim was squatting in. When police attempted to arrest him, Ginger tried to escape by running past them. When they caught him, he dropped to the floor with his legs wrapped around the officers and thrashed about, causing them to fall to the floor as well. Ginger appeared in court via video link from Albany Regional Prison last week and pleaded guilty to unlawful assault causing bodily harm, breach of protective bail conditions and obstructing public officers. Defence lawyer Lillie Carney said Ginger and the victim had a “complex” relationship characterised by methamphetamine use. She said though it was not a one-sided argument and he never had any intention of using the syringes to harm the victim, Ginger accepted the facts of the assault. Magistrate Rosemarie Myers said it was a “very serious assault” that resulted in “significant injuries”. “You talk about at some point loving her, but yet you can still hurt her like this,” she said. She sentenced him to nine months imprisonment, conditionally suspended for 12 months.