Man allegedly kicked pregnant wife in stomach, threatened to kill unborn child

CONTENT WARNING: This article refers to alleged domestic violence.

A court heard a man is alleged to have repeatedly kicked his pregnant wife in the stomach and threatened to kill her children and their unborn child.

The man, who is in his 30s but not named to protect his partner’s identity, is accused of repeatedly assaulting his wife when she was five weeks pregnant in November 2024.

The Triple Zero call she made after the alleged incident was played to the ACT Magistrates Court when he applied for bail on Monday (9 December).

“He slapped me and he kicked me on the baby bump,” she claimed.

“He hit me very badly.

“Now he hit me, he said, ‘I don’t want a child’.”

The police officer who later spoke to her at hospital gave evidence to the court.

“She seemed very upset, so crying. She also appeared to be very concerned for her … children and unborn baby,” the officer said when asked how the woman appeared when he spoke to her.

The officer said police had also spoken to one of the women’s children.

He said the child alleged they heard yelling from the loungeroom at home, so they went out to see the man and woman arguing. They allegedly saw the man yelling in the woman’s face, then he kicked her in the stomach three times and pushed her from behind.

The officer also claimed the woman had told him that in 2022, she had been assaulted by her husband when she was “some months pregnant”. She allegedly started bleeding after the attack, so she was taken to hospital where doctors performed a medical abortion.

The man has only been charged over the allegations from November 2024, and the court heard the woman has since recanted her claims from this month.

During cross-examination by the man’s lawyer, Carley Hitchins from CODA Criminal Law, the police officer said he spoke to the woman last week, and she “does not want to cooperate or provide any further assistance in the prosecution”.

Ms Hitchins said her client had “never been in trouble before”. She claimed prosecutors may have significant problems in the matter, partly because the woman had given two different versions of events.

She also said the woman had reported that she wanted her husband to be granted bail, was not afraid of him, and wanted to keep living together.

But the prosecutor still opposed bail, saying the allegations were an “alarming example of family violence” committed in front of children on a person with a number of vulnerabilities.

The prosecutor also said “complainants recant often” but argued there was evidence to support the allegations.

Magistrate Glenn Theakston said the man was also accused of threatening to kill his unborn child and the woman’s other children.

“I will kill your kids,” the man is alleged to have said.

Magistrate Theakston said the alleged violence was so targeted and the threats were so specific that he had reservations about the man’s willingness to comply with bail conditions.

He said if the man breached the conditions, the consequences could be catastrophic.

When the man heard bail would be refused, he was visibly upset and began to cry.

He was remanded in custody and has entered not guilty pleas to his four counts of common assault.

The matter returns to court in January 2025.

If this story has raised any concerns for you, 1800RESPECT, the national 24-hour sexual assault, family and domestic violence counselling line, can be contacted on 1800 737 732. Help and support are also available through the Canberra Rape Crisis Centre on 02 6247 2525, the Domestic Violence Crisis Service ACT 02 6280 0900, the Sexual Violence Legal Services on 6257 4377 and Lifeline on 13 11 14. In an emergency, call Triple Zero.