After his fiancée stated that she wanted his two children to be vaccinated against Covid, an anti-vaxxer assaulted her.
On Thursday, Matthew James Lowe, 36, of West Launceston, Tasmania, pleaded not guilty to common assault in connection with an incident that occurred on November 24, 2021.
According to The Mercury, Lowe had “strict” vaccination beliefs, but his 10-year girlfriend did not share his beliefs and covertly was vaccinated for Covid-19.
His fiance disagreed with him because he wanted his two children to be home-schooled rather than vaccinated.
Lowe’s fiancé secretly recorded their discussion on her phone the day of the assault after they got into a disagreement about the children’s vaccination status.
When Lowe realized she was filming the disagreement, he grabbed her phone and tried to delete the tape, resulting in a brawl.
Lowe’s fiancee received bruising and cuts on her neck, as well as carpet burns on her knees, during the incident.
Both agreed that she spat in his face, but they told conflicting stories about what transpired when he tried to get in his car and drive away.
His fiance claimed the fight proceeded in the garage, where he threw her to the ground and put his hands on her neck, temporarily choking her until she was unable to speak.
He denied this, claiming that when he picked up his car keys and she attempted to reclaim them, he dragged her across the ground, injuring her.
The magistrate decided that these events were a case of Lowe’s word against his fiance’s, with her injuries being the only evidence to support up her claim, despite his’rehearsed’ tone in his testimony.
He did say that they both agreed that he had seized her phone and shoved her when she tried to get it back, which he later discovered he wasn’t allowed to do.
Lowe was found guilty of common assault on this basis, but not of the choking charge, which could not be established beyond a reasonable doubt.
Lowe received a $800 fine and was found guilty.
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