2 weeks ago
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A disgraced rugby league player will not serve a sentence behind bars after committing a slew of domestic violence offences, a court has ruled.
Brett John Seymour appeared before Toowoomba District Court on Thursday for sentencing, having pleaded guilty in May to three counts of assault occasioning bodily harm and a single count of common assault.
He was first charged in July 2023 and all of the offences related to domestic violence.
Crown prosecutor Peter Blake-Segovia told the court Seymour had assaulted a woman on several occasions between October and December in 2022.
He said the offending often occurred after arguments over money. Seymour would grow angry if the woman did not give him money to gamble with.
On one occasion, he shoved the woman onto the ground and pressed her down with his knee, the court heard.
The prosecutor said Seymour's 'most serious offending' occurred on Boxing Day that year.
He punched the victim in the eye with an open fist and left her with a severe bruise.
Brett John Seymour (above) has been released on immediate parole after beating and abusing a woman in 2022
Seymour later tried to claim the woman was hit with a cricket ball during a backyard game.
He also verbally abused the victim, calling her names including 'ugly' and 'mutt', the court heard.
Judge Craig Chowdhury said he was fed-up with seeing domestic violence in the community, lamenting the court sees such cases 'all the time'.
'There's a major problem in society with domestic violence and it's getting worse.'
Seymour's barrister, Daniel Boddice, said his client had been working to rehabilitate himself since the offending in 2022.
'He's not burdened in the acute sense by the addictions he once was, and he can now reflect insightfully on his behaviour,' he said, according to the ABC.
He said Seymour was left with no identity, nor money, after exiting the NRL.
The court heard Seymour's career was sullied by his alcohol abuse, which led clubs to fire and avoid him before he left to the UK to play and coach rugby.
The court heard Seymour (above) would often begin arguing with the victim over money, which she withheld from him to prevent him from gambling
Mr Boddice argued Seymour was at a critical point in turning his life around, and should not spend time behind bars.
However, Crown Prosecutor Mr Blake-Segovia rejected the suggestion Seymour would change his ways.
'He's been at this crossroads before, and he went down the wrong path,' Mr Blake-Segovia said.
'This wasn't a one-off; it's not an isolated single incident.'
Judge Chowdhury served Seymour a three-year sentence with an immediate parole period.
Seymour was ordered to pay $5,000 to the complainant over the next six months.
Seymour played for several NRL clubs from 2002 to 2011.
He played five-eighth and halfback at the Brisbane Broncos, Cronulla Sharks and New Zealand Warriors before moving to the UK.
