A Canberra butcher accused of causing "serious harm" to a young woman's pregnancy in a series of violent attacks has been granted bail.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
The decision to free Martin Carl Phillips from custody came after a court heard of doubts over the accuracy of statements made by the 20-year-old alleged victim, who has now left the ACT.
Phillips, a 35-year-old Scullin man, was arrested last week and charged with 12 offences relating to incidents that are said to have occurred on three dates in late January.
Police claim that, among other things, the butcher forcibly confined the young woman at a home in Macgregor, punched her in the face and stomach, stabbed her in the arm with a hunting knife, and threatened to kill her on multiple occasions.
Phillips, who is soon to be sentenced for unrelated driving offences, denies the allegations and has pleaded not guilty to all 12 charges.
They include intentional wounding, unlawful confinement and several counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
When Phillips' bail application began last Friday, the ACT Magistrates Court heard that the alleged victim had told police she had also seen the 35-year-old punch and headbutt another woman during one of the incidents.
She claimed she had suffered a visible graze on her head while mowing a lawn, and also told the court that the alleged victim "would lie a lot".
On Tuesday, when the bail application resumed, a prosecutor said he had "come into possession of evidence" about an earlier incident involving Phillips and the second woman.
He tendered to the court what he said were notes of conversations that woman had had with police and child protection authorities, saying they might explain "the sense of allegiance" that woman apparently felt towards Phillips.
Phillips' lawyer, Dean Rutherford, unsuccessfully objected to the tender of those documents.
Mr Rutherford also applied to have the woman recalled to give further evidence in light of the new documents, but Magistrate James Lawton said that was unnecessary because he was going to grant bail anyway.
"It is significant in my view that two significant steps have already occurred," Mr Lawton said in explaining his decision.
The magistrate said those were that the alleged victim had participated in a recorded interview with police and "left the jurisdiction".
As a result, he believed bail conditions could be imposed to mitigate any risks posed by Phillips going forward.
Mr Lawton said that if Phillips was refused bail, the butcher would spend months behind bars waiting for a hearing or trial date in circumstances where the strength of the case against him had been called into question.
He noted that the woman who took the witness stand had apparently been present during some of the reported January incidents, yet she claimed not to have seen or heard anything to suggest the 20-year-old alleged victim had been assaulted.
Mr Lawton also said the alleged victim had sent messages to a number of Phillips' friends and relatives following one of the reported incidents, claiming to have been assaulted by two teenage girls.
"[That] seems somewhat at odds with the accounts she's given to police," he said.
The magistrate did note, however, that the alleged victim had perhaps just been "minimising" Phillips' actions for the sake of her own safety.
Phillips was ultimately released on a strict series of bail conditions, including requirements that he report to police twice each day and remain in the ACT at all times.
He is due to return to court in March.
For faster access to the latest Canberra news, download The Canberra Times app for iOS and Android.
