Ex-wife tells court NSW police prosecutor assaulted her while she held their baby

A NSW police prosecutor assaulted his then wife while she was recovering from birth complications and holding their newborn, his ex-wife told the NSW District Court on Thursday. The man, identified only as MZ because his identity is suppressed to protect the victim, was taken into custody in July after a jury convicted him of 11 domestic violence offences.

The 50-year-old appeared by audio-visual link and sat expressionless as his ex-wife and her two children read victim impact statements. He was found guilty of two counts of sexual intercourse without consent, two counts of common assault, five counts of assault occasioning bodily harm, intentionally choking a person without consent and sexually touching another person without consent. His career with the force spanned more than two decades.

His ex-wife held her composure for pages of testimony, but her voice wavered when she described what her children saw. She told the court she was assaulted after the caesarean section of their second child while recovering from complications, and again while cradling their baby. That second attack, she said, showed her nothing would stop him. She also described the power imbalance of accusing a police prosecutor of domestic violence: the blue shirt meant to represent safety, she said, became the shirt she learned to fear. Her two children now live with post traumatic stress disorder and a distrust of law enforcement, the court heard.

Defence barrister Arjun Chhabra argued the serious offences warranted a jail term of just under 10 years once mitigating factors were weighed. He told Judge Philip Hogan that MZ was diagnosed with PTSD, that he had described being sexually abused as a child by a trusted figure, and that his work as a prosecutor exposed him to matters that left him triggered — particularly a 2020 domestic violence incident. Chhabra said the symptoms likely reduced his client's capacity to manage stress during conflict, and that MZ's police career would make him a target in jail, where protective custody would be more onerous.

Crown barrister Rohan Cooley countered that a serving officer should have known better. He accepted the reports of childhood abuse and PTSD but said they did not impair MZ's ability to grasp the seriousness or consequences of his actions. Cooley also told the court there was clearly no expression of remorse, which the defence had already acknowledged.

MZ's father, brothers and sister watched from the gallery. Hogan adjourned sentencing to Gosford District Court on December 11. MZ has been suspended from the NSW Police Force without pay while his employment is under review.