STATE OF TASMANIA v GEOFFREY WILLIAM PEET 31 JULY 2026
COMMENTS ON PASSING SENTENCE PEARCE J
Geoffrey Peet, you plead guilty to persistent family violence. I also agreed to sentence you on your plea of guilty to some related summary charges. The offences were committed in March and October 2024 in the context of the termination of your relationship with Emma Gower.
You had been in a significant relationship with Ms Gower for about four years. You had two children together who were then aged two and one. You did not live together permanently but you spent a lot of time at her home in Newnham. Your relationship came to an end on 23 March 2024 when you argued and she asked you to leave. As you did so you kicked and dented her car. You then proceeded to send her a series of abusive text messages.
The first occasion of family violence occurred the following morning. Without her permission you entered her house in the early hours of the morning by climbing in through the dog door. You went to sleep on the couch. When she discovered you were there at about 9.00 am you began to abuse her. In the shower you punched and damaged the wall and damaged a bathroom shelf. When she tried to leave with the children you headbutted her face, striking the bridge of her nose knocking her glasses off and making her nose bleed. Before leaving you smashed the laundry window.
You then sent a further series of abusive and threatening text messages. You called her fat lazy scum and wished her a slow death. You returned to her home uninvited at around 7 pm that evening. You drove there although you were disqualified from driving. Again, you climbed in through the dog door. You abused her and ignored her requests that you leave. She called the police. You left before they arrived but not before making hand gestures to Ms Gower as if to shoot her and cut her throat.
You were found by the police not far away, in your car with the engine running, highly intoxicated. When you were arrested you resisted the arresting the officers, and abused one of them and threatened to smash his face in. Later analysis disclosed a breath alcohol concentration of 0.117. The next day, 25 March 2024, you were served with a police family violence order to protect Ms Gower. The order prohibited you, with limited exceptions, from contacting Ms Gower, threatening or abusing her or going to or near her home. You paid no attention to the order and breached it by sending her more verbally and emotionally abusive text messages that day and the following day. On 25 March there were two such messages and on 26 March there were 74 such messages.
Two days later, at 12.30 am on 27 March 2024, you returned to Ms Gower’s home, uninvited and in breach of the order. You walked into her bedroom where she was asleep. One of your children was also in her bed. When she asked you to leave you grabbed her by the hair and pulled it forcefully. You picked up the child. She repeatedly asked you to leave and said she was calling the police. You eventually left but punched the laundry window, which was already broken, on the way out. Your acts on that day constituted four further breaches of the police family violence order. When the police arrived, they found you parked down the road, intoxicated and unsteady on your feet.
The next criminal acts were committed on 16 October 2024. The police family violence order prohibiting you from being there was still in place. You telephoned Ms Gower asking for money. When she refused you went to her home and committed a trespass by entering her house through the dog door. When she again refused your request for money you assaulted her by repeatedly punching her, kicking her and pulling her hair. You inflicted multiple forceful punches to her face and arms. You kicked her legs and feet with your steel capped boots. You pulled her hair hard. The violence lasted for about 10 minutes during which time you were abusing her and calling her vile names. When she screamed you forced your fist into her mouth and told her to shut up. Your hand caught on her nose piercing causing it to bleed.
While the assault occurred, both children were in the room. They were screaming and crying. At times you were holding one of them while continuing to assault Ms Gower, although she was begging you to stop. When she phoned her mother for help you took and smashed her phone. You kicked and broke a wooden shoe box in the hallway. You walked outside and smashed the front lounge room window by punching it. You caused a deep cut to your hand. You were about to leave when you saw her parents arrive. You returned inside the house and told Ms Gower that, if she called the police, you would kill her and that, if you went to prison, you would come after her after your release. These things were said in front of the children. After you left there was blood, both yours and Ms Gower’s, on the floor and walls of a number of rooms. One child had blood on his face and the other had blood on his hands and feet. The oldest child was trying to fix some of the damage you had done. Ms Gower was taken to hospital. Examination revealed swelling and bruising to her face, including her eye and lip. She had some blurred vision. Her arms and legs were bruised, and her nose piercing was bleeding. She was however discharged the following morning.
You were arrested the next day.
When these offences were committed you were aged 29 and 30. You are now 32. You have prior convictions for family violence offending. In 2018 you were made subject to a probation order for assaulting and damaging the property of a different former partner. In 2021 you were again sentenced for offences against that female in 2019, two counts of common assault, three counts of destroying property and three counts of breaching bail. You also have a prior conviction for an alcohol related driving offence and for abusing the police. Since these crimes were committed, you have continued to offend, although not with actual violence. On 1 April 2026 you were sentenced by a magistrate to imprisonment for four months, two months of which was suspended, for, on my count, 27 counts of breaching the family violence order put in place to protect Ms Gower, 17 related counts of breaching bail, abusing police and cannabis use. Those offences were committed between November 2025 and March 2026.
You have a serious problem with abuse of alcohol. Your alcoholism contributed to many of these offences but do not excuse your conduct or lessen the seriousness of it. You have a supportive mother and sister and the prospect of manual employment on your release. I am informed that you now recognise your addiction and have resolved to address it, but you will need to demonstrate your intention by action. It is not disputed by the State that prior to this offending period there was mutual physical and verbal abuse. Some of your offences were motivated by disagreement with Ms Gower about contact with the children, and by mixed messages she gave about whether she wished the relationship to continue. However, it was your responsibility to comply with the terms of the order. Most importantly, nothing excuses your resort to violence or threatened violence, particularly the type of serious and damaging violence which was inflicted. On 16 October 2024 you subjected Ms Gower to a prolonged attack in her own home. It is strongly aggravating that the violence was inflicted in the presence of your children. The profound psychological harm to children from witnessing such acts is well recognised. For the time being you have deprived them of a direct relationship with a loving father. Although I treat the victim impact statement with care, Ms Gower describes that the children are already behaving differently as a result and that she remains affected by these events. Ms Gower was badly beaten but her injuries could have been even worse. The psychological harm to direct victims of family violence can also be profound. It is aggravating that many of these offences were committed in breach of the police family violence order. You are also charged with breaching the order so you are not to be punished twice for the same conduct. The disqualified driving offence is another example of your disregard of court orders.
The remaining important consideration is your plea of guilty. It was not an early plea. It was entered only after the matter was listed for trial. For a long time Ms Gower faced the prospect of having to give evidence although she ultimately was saved from having to do so. It is not a plea which is indicative of genuine remorse, which is better judged by your conduct over time. Your subsequent offending precludes such a claim. Nevertheless, the plea facilitated justice. It is in the interests of justice to allow a modest reduction in sentence and the earliest eligibility for parole to reflect your plea, not only because of your acceptance of responsibility, but also as an indication to others of the benefit of doing so in appropriate cases.
The only appropriate sentence is a significant term of imprisonment. Family violence is a scourge and offenders must be punished and made an example of.
On 1 April 2026 a magistrate declared you to be a serial family violence perpetrator under the Family Violence Act, s 29A. That declaration was expressed to remain in force for 18 months and so would expire in late 2027. In my view, the nature of the offences for which I am to sentence you, taken with your record, require the declaration to remain in force for the maximum period of five years, and so I will make a further order. On 4 April 2025 a magistrate made a family violence order to protect Ms Gower. It was expressed to be for a period of two years. It may expire before your release and so I will make a further family violence order substantially in the same terms but for a longer period.
You spent 55 days in custody between 18 October 2024 and 11 December 2024. You were arrested again on 16 March 2026 and have been in custody since then. Two months of the period of custody is attributed to the sentence imposed on 1 April 2026. Taking that into account, the result is that the sentence I am about to impose will be expressed to commence on 20 March 2026.
Geoffrey Peet, you are convicted on the indictment and on complaint 32040/24, counts 1, and 6 to 11 inclusive, complaint 31553/2024, counts 2 to 7 inclusive, and complaint 35721/24, counts 1, 2, 3, 4, 8 and 11. In accordance with the Family Violence Act, s 13A, I direct that all of those offences be recorded on your criminal record as a family violence offence, with the exception of counts 6 to 11 inclusive on complaint 32040/24. I declare you to be a serial family violence perpetrator and direct that the declaration remain in force for three and a half years from the expiry of the declaration made on 1 April 2026. I extend the term of the family violence order made 4 April 2025 for a further period of three years so that the total term is five years. I amend the terms of the order to include, after condition 2(d), the following condition as 2(e):
“(e) for the purpose of contact with [the children whose names will be included in the documents] whilst you are in custody, including by the Arunta prison phone system, video calls, and in-person visits, such contact to be facilitated by Emma Jane Gower.”
I make a compensation order in favour of Emma Gower and adjourn the further terms of that compensation order to a day to be fixed.
On complaint 32040/24, count 7 is dismissed as subsumed with count 8. On counts 6 and 8, the driving offences, I impose one sentence. You are fined $2,000 and disqualified from driving for two years from your release. Any driver licence you have is cancelled. On counts 9, 10 and 11 on that complaint, the offences against police, you are sentenced to a term of imprisonment of one month from 20 March 2026. On the indictment and all remaining counts on the complaints to which you have pleaded guilty I impose one sentence. You are sentenced to a term of imprisonment of two years and three months, also from 20 March 2026. I order that you not be eligible for parole until you have served half of that term.