Justice system let me down
Illawarra Mercury, Australia, by Michele Tydd, December 18, 2010. Section: News, Page: 5
AN Austinmer father says he is angry and bewildered by a judge's
comments to brand him a sook for going to police after his former
partner assaulted him in front of their eight-year-old son.
Judge Paul Conlon upheld Tanya Austin's appeal over a lower court
conviction for the assault and said police should have told Martin
Mondzheyovsky to "man up".
"What really concerns me is the way the judge trivialised a clear-cut
case of domestic violence and belittled me for reporting the assault,"
Mr Mondzheyovsky said yesterday.
"I'm a law-abiding citizen and believe in women's rights, but I also
believe men are entitled to the same protection when it comes to this
sort of thing."
The organisation Dads in Distress (DID) has come out in support of Mr Mondzheyovsky and described Judge Conlon's comments as "appalling".
DID western Sydney co-ordinator Phil York said, in his opinion, Judge
Conlon's comments "send a clear message to society [that] men who report
domestic violence to police are wimps".
In Wollongong Local Court in October, Ms Austin, 35, pleaded guilty to
assaulting Mr Mondzheyovsky and said she became resentful when her
former partner told her how much he had enjoyed a surfing holiday to
Bali while she was struggling to raise their son.
She told Magistrate Les Mabbutt that Mr Mondzheyovsky paid little
support, although yesterday he strongly denied this.
She admitted to repeatedly poking him in the face and throwing the full
plastic bottle of tonic water which struck him in the face.
"You have given a number of excuses ... but you lost your temper and
violence is never the answer," Mr Mabbutt said.
He rejected her plea to not record a conviction and also placed her on a
12-month good behaviour bond.
At the appeal hearing earlier this month, Judge Conlon scoffed at the
notion Mr Mondzheyovsky was "trembling and crying" as a result of "being
struck by a plastic bottle".
"Oh, boo hoo. The bloke should have been told by police to man up," he
said.
"She has really been left with the total responsibility of bringing up
their child. She receives little financial support [from him] ... [and
yet] he decided to take himself off on a wonderful surfing holiday and
then told her all about it."
Judge Conlon said it was an "easy case" for him to throw out, and added
that the fact Mr Mondzheyovsky had the temerity to even call police
after the incident was very telling of his character.
He apologised to Ms Austin for being charged in the first place and
dismissed the matter.
Mr Mondzheyovsky, 40, a floor sander, said he had had to be convinced by
family to report the assault but he felt better for having done so.
"The judge's comments were upsetting, but I'm more disappointed that the
process has let me down and flagged for other men in my situation that
they are less of a man to turn to the system for help.
"Police were great, the magistrate got it right and then things fell
apart in the higher court when I wasn't even given the chance to address
the court on the financial claims [raised by Ms Austin], or why I was
crying at the time.
"I had been attacked in front of my son who was distressed and crying,
and I just had to take it to prevent the situation from escalating any
further, so yes, of course I was upset.
"One of my main concerns is that my son will learn all the wrong things
from it ... that men are only men if they sit there and take the abuse,
or worse turn into a perpetrator himself."
Mr Mondzheyovsky said the other thing the court failed to touch on was
ensuring his former partner addressed her violence.
"She is my son's prime carer and I love him to the end of the earth, so
yeah, that's what is weighing on my mind right now."
Mr Mondzheyovsky is considering taking the matter further with the help
of DID.
Mr York said this issue had attracted national attention on the Men's
Rights Agency website.
"This affects more men than people think," Mr York said.
"I have examples within all my groups of men who have been both
physically and mentally abused in their relationships.
"However, this is the first I've seen where a court has overturned a
previous decision in regards to being a victim of domestic violence,
particularly when the woman has pleaded guilty.
"A number of men throughout Australia have responded to this case on the
website and the overwhelming theme that runs through all the comments is
despair that their pain is so under-valued."