A Supreme Court judge is alleged to have gifted a woman a phone, smartwatch and earphones which he then used to monitor her whereabouts as he spiralled into a jealous rage.
Tasmanian Justice Gregory Geason, 62, has pleaded not guilty to one count of emotional abuse or intimidation and one count of common assault.
He is accused of assaulting the woman on October 31 by grabbing her arms and squeezing and shaking her, striking her with his hand and emotionally abusing and intimidating her between April and November, including by tracking her movements.
Crown prosecutor Neill Hutton told Hobart Magistrates Court that Geason used the devices he gifted her to constantly track her through her daily life.
In one instance, he “happened to come across” a family member of the woman in Canberra after allegedly tracking the earphones he had given her.
“The inference here is the accused was using headphones to find the victim,” Hutton told the court on Monday.
After the woman went out for drinks with Geason’s ex-wife, he was alleged to have constantly rung her, telling her his ex-wife was trying to turn her against him.
Geason allegedly became physical on October 31 when he discovered a text message from the complainant’s friend on her phone and became enraged after attempting to look through her messages.
He allegedly grabbed her on her upper arms firmly and shook her, hit her hard in the chest, and pushed her where she hit her head, Hutton said.
After finding bruises on her body, the accused judge told the woman she “bruised too easily” and that he “had too much to drink”.
READ MORE: ‘Rotten culture’: Premier to refer CFMEU’s Victorian branch to anti-corruption watchdog
Geason subjected the woman to constant verbal abuse, screaming at her, calling her derogatory terms and disparaging her CV whenever he got angry, it was alleged.
The woman said Geason could be “charming and nice and then suddenly flip”.
Geason’s barrister Tom Percy KC argued there was no coercion or anything sinister in any of the circumstances, saying there was never any physical tracking device on the phone.
“Any suggestion that he tried to invade her privacy or exert some measure of control is simply misconceived,” Percy said.
He described the October 31 confrontation “unfortunate” as both people had been drinking.
The accused will argue the complainant said she was someone who “bruised easily” and had been prescribed blood thinning drugs, and suffered medical conditions that may have contributed to the marks.
READ MORE: Murder charge after body found in stairwell of Melbourne apartment
Geason has been on leave from his court justice role since November and has given a written commitment to not seek or attempt to exercise the powers of a Supreme Court judge while criminal proceedings are ongoing.
He was admitted to practice in 1987 and worked as a crown prosecutor before being appointed to the Supreme Court of Tasmania in 2017.
The hearing, before Victorian Deputy Chief Magistrate Susan Wakeling, is slated to run for five days.
Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).
links to content on ABC
9News
