Victim-survivor's 'fear' after serial coercive control offender's sentence reduced on appeal

A 19-year-old woman, whose name has been changed for privacy reasons, has spoken out about the 'fear' and 'anger' she felt when a serial coercive control offender's sentence was reduced on appeal.

Warning: This article contains information some readers may find distressing.

The woman, Lucy, had a three-year relationship with Benjamin James Morris, who was 11 years older than her. During their relationship, Lucy said she experienced extreme coercive control, including a relentless barrage of death threats, harassment, stalking, and intimidation.

In one instance, Lucy fled her home in the middle of the night, running barefoot in the dark and hiding in bushes to escape Morris. She had her older sister pick her up, and they fled in her car as Morris pursued them to her sister's house.

"When you experience this type of DV … it doesn't ever leave you," Lucy said. "Stress, fear, poor self-belief and esteem, are with you forever."

Morris was charged with 19 offences, including eight counts of intimidation, seven counts of contravening an apprehended domestic violence order (ADVO), two counts of threats to kill, and three counts of attempting to influence a witness.

He contacted his victim more than 1,800 times in a single month, sending 249 messages in a 24-hour period in July 2022. Many of the messages contained violent and graphic threats to kill her, her friends, and her family.

In one message, Morris threatened to burn her and her family alive, referencing the murder of Hannah Clarke and her children by her ex-partner in Queensland in 2020.

"… if I hear you are seeing anyone even speaking to another I will kill them 100% without a doubt or second thought and probably you too."

"I told you if you call the cops again I'll f***ing kill you and for this tonight and calling the you pushed me … I'm going to kill your whole family … you reckon they'll hear me walk the driveway and burn the f***ing house down … oh quick call them get them to get in the car like that c**t in Queensland and his own misses [sic] and kid…"

A District Court judge initially sentenced Morris to 16 years in jail, with 11 years non-parole. However, the sentence was reduced to 12 years in jail, with eight years non-parole, on appeal.

NSW Police Superintendent Ben Morris, Acting Commander of the Domestic and Family Violence Command, said the case highlighted the importance of enforcing ADVOs and prosecuting offenders who breach them.

"This case highlights the fact that AVOs are an important tool we have and breaching it is a serious offence that you could be incarcerated for," Superintendent Morris said. "I think this sends a strong message to the community about how seriously the police, the community and the courts are taking it."

Lucy said she was relieved when the original sentence was handed down, only to feel "anger and fear" when it was reduced on appeal.

"The retelling of the threats etc. when making statements, perceived judgements, the questioning of myself, to go through that for it to be thrown out or at least viewed as less serious," she said.

"People should be made to feel comfortable about reporting this type of DV … There needs to be education and support to encourage speaking up."

Former NSW magistrate David Heilpern, now Dean of Law at Southern Cross University, said the initial sentence was "appropriate" and should not have been reduced.

"It is a high sentence, higher than one would normally expect to see, but that's what should be happening as community values are reflected," Mr Heilpern said.

"This case is at the very high end of the scale for this type of offending and so in my view, the original sentence was correct."

Lucy said she still suffers from the impacts of Morris's abuse, including ongoing fear, memory loss, and difficulty trusting people.