source : the age
A serial domestic violence offender who was controversially released on bail after pleading guilty to a brutal attack on a Perth woman cut off his ankle monitor and went on the run, prompting a police manhunt.
Guy Leslie Cramp, 33, was arrested and charged late last year over the vile attack on the mother of his newborn son at her Stratton property.
His victim, Chloe Wright, released CCTV footage of the assault that left her with a broken nose and a fractured cheekbone in a bid to raise awareness of how domestic violence perpetrators are treated by the courts after Cramp was released on bail despite pleading guilty to the assault.
Cramp then became the subject of a statewide manhunt after he cut off his ankle monitoring equipment on Friday evening, weeks after he failed to complete a DV offenders program that was part of his bail conditions.
WAtoday understands the ankle monitor was found in dense bushland near the RAAF airbase in Bullsbrook where Cramp lives.
Wright said she was contacted by police in the rural WA town she fled to after his release on bail hours after he cut off the ankle monitor.
Wright campaigned for stronger penalties for domestic violence perpetrators in the wake of Cramp’s release on bail after it was revealed she was his third female victim. Cramp also has prior convictions for breaching bail and other assaults.
His release also drew fierce criticism from the state opposition with Libby Mettam criticising the criminal justice system.
“This is a government that talks tough when it comes to family and domestic violence perpetrators, but the reality on the ground is a light touch approach,” Mettam said.
“Quite clearly, our criminal justice system is broken. The current system is the current system is broken. It’s prioritising the freedom of perpetrators ahead of the safety of victims.
“It’s breathtakingly bad. This is so shocking, and I think not a single person in the community could believe what is happening here, and for the attorney general just to palm this off in this way is simply inexcusable as well.”
Cramp was caught on Saturday and will front court again on Sunday morning.
