Magistrate under fire for saying domestic abuse case a ‘travesty of justice’, Beenleigh, Qld

A senior magistrate is in hot water after calling a domestic violence case a ‘travesty of justice’ and saying victim’s ‘cheating wife’ should face trial after throwing ‘Troy is in jail’ party at home her ex-husband.

Troy Matheson pleaded guilty at Beenleigh Magistrates’ Court, south Brisbane, to crimes including puncturing the tires of his ex-wife’s new boyfriend’s car, common assault and breach of bail.

The 45-year-old has also allegedly breached domestic violence orders six times since April 3.

Matheson was due to be sentenced by Magistrate Ronald Kilner on September 20, but Mr Kilner refused and instead adjourned the case until December 5.

He then dramatically blamed Matheson’s abusive behavior on his ex-wife’s infidelity, while the mother-of-two sat in the back of the courtroom.

Troy Matheson (pictured) pleaded guilty to slashing the tires of his ex-wife’s new lover and breaching bail

“I wonder who should be in the dock, the injured party or Mr Matheson,” Magistrate Kilner told the court in September, according to The Courier-Mail.

“Quite frankly, I think that’s a travesty of justice, that’s surely not the purpose of our system.”

“His wife will cheat and break up a family, he tries to restore the family and is punished again.”

The court previously heard that Matheson’s ex-wife hosted a ‘Troy is in jail’ party at his home after he was arrested on June 3, following the tire puncture incident.

Magistrate Kilner went on to say he was “appalled” by the case and called for further investigation.

“I don’t condone willful damage, but I think there may have been significant provocation,” he told the court.

He then granted Matheson bail, despite previous warnings from magistrate Pamela Dowse that he was mentally unstable and that his victim was ‘very fearful’.

A magistrate blamed Matheson’s abusive behavior on his ex-wife’s infidelity (Matheson pictured)

Following Magistrate Kilner’s ‘inappropriate’ comments in court, numerous people filed complaints – including the Attorney General and Chief Magistrate of Queensland.

A recusal request was scheduled for November 22, meaning he could be removed from the case altogether.

Until then, he has been ruled out of all cases at Beenleigh Magistrates’ Court.

Magistrate Kilner retired in 2015 but returned to the bench as acting magistrate in 2018.

During his retirement speech, he described domestic violence as a blight on the modern community.

However, he claimed that many people who filed lawsuits were simply trying to control their ex-partner or gain an advantage in family court.

“Increasingly, what was meant to be a mechanism to keep the peace between parties who could not live in harmony together has become a weapon in the hands of the aggrieved,” he said.

“The balance must be restored to give domestic violence laws the weight they need to help reduce this blight on our community.”

Troy Matheson pleaded guilty at Beenleigh Magistrates’ Court (pictured) to willful damage, common assault and breach of bail