AMount Gambier businessman has had his home detention conditions revoked following a statement by the alleged victim claiming she wants to drop the charges.


Vincent Vinci is accused of committing assault against his own spouse, aggravated stalking, dishonestly taking property without consent and preventing a person from attending as a witness.


Mr Vinci was granted home detention bail in the Mount Gambier Magistrates Court by Magistrate Koula Kossiavelos on October 8 and ordered a cash surety of $30,000 between him and his wife, yet Tuesday his bail agreement was varied.


Mr Vinci’s bail conditions no longer include electronic monitoring and drug and alcohol testing but he still has to comply with the conditions of the victim’s intervention order and be available to the Department of Correctional Services by phone at any time.


Mr Vinci was represented in person by Adelaide lawyer Wiliam Boucat from the Len King Chambers while SAPOL prosecutor David Stiles was prosecuting via audio visual link.


Prosecutor Stiles said he was “strongly opposed” to the application to vary bail and stated there were issues relating to pressure being placed on the complainant.


“Her application not to be a witness in relation to this matter, we would need a significant amount of further investigation due to the protection of the victim,” he said.


“The email that I received back yesterday morning in relation to the contact of the victim does not say they are not proceeding with the charges so this matter is still proceeding.


“We contest it on the basis that we think there are issues that have to be flushed out by police in relation to the complainant especially in relation to whether she wants to be part of this or not.


“At the moment, we are satisfied these matters should be still proceeding through the normal channels and it is too early to be able to determine whether these charges do not proceed on the basis that she does not want to be of assistance.


“If your honour was to remove the home detention device … he can return back to Mount Gambier anytime and he has free reign to be able to travel around Mount Gambier without the police actually being able to monitor him in relation to contacting the victim … so it creates a significant risk to her.”


Mr Boucat said Mr Vinci wanted to be able to reside at and care for the sheep and rodeo horses at his “hobby farm” in Dartmoor.


“The reality is that it is going to cost him a lot of money if this intensive bail regime stays in place,” Mr Boucat said.


“It is his family home and he wants to be able to go there.


“He is not a flight risk. He has a well-established business here in Mount Gambier, a family home just over the border and an apartment here in Mount Gambier. He is not going to be running away.”


Mr Boucat said the victim issued a statement through Jarrad Sim at Ryans Lawyers that she did not want to attend as a witness.


“There is clearly mixed messages. My understanding is the lady concerned does not want the intervention order in place,” he said.


“It strikes me as somewhat extraordinary the complainant’s wishes are not complied with.”


Magistrate Kossiavelos said she was satisfied the protection of the alleged victim will be met with the existing intervention order and amended bail conditions including cash surety without the need for home detention.


“There is a statement of the protected person on the court portal that has been prepared by her and an independent lawyer confirming that she does not wish to proceed with any of the charges, that she is not coerced or pressured in any way to reaching this decision, that she does wish to have these charges withdrawn and has approached police on numerous occasions,” she said.


“She is in court in person in support of her statement, her lawyer who prepared this is also in court.


“I take into consideration there are mixed messages as described by Mr Boucat in relation to the safety of the protected person.


“I accept there is often a process that prosecution needs to go through with allegations of domestic violence and that has not occurred however I am weighing up what is before me.


“He runs businesses as well as farm properties in both Victoria and in Mount Gambier and conducting both businesses requires flexibility and mobility which is incompatible with home detention monitoring conditions.


“The demands of his work have been outlined in a timetable that I have considered in the application which is extensive and obviously takes him from location to location.”


Prosecutor Stiles said prosecution will lodge a judicial review with the Supreme Court regarding the decision.