A magistrate has been scathing in rejecting a Lavington's woman claim her threat to a girl to withdraw a police statement was spur-of-the-moment.
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Minutes after her ex-partner was denied bail in Albury Local Court, the woman drove to his mother's home in central Albury.
She ordered the man's 14-year-old sister to withdraw a statement to police in which she said he had a firearm.
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That came with the threat to "kill, drown anyone" who implicated her ex-partner.
Defence barrister Christine Mendes submitted in sentencing that while the woman - who cannot be named - was no longer the partner of the girl's brother, she continued to work closely with him in raising their three children.
Ms Mendes argued her client, who was "highly stressed" after the bail rejection, was merely trying to retrieve some keys and "take possession of his dog" while he was in custody.
But Mr Funston said - as Ms Mendes, too, acknowledged - the woman had committed a crime that went to the very heart of the criminal justice system
"I must say I take a very dim view of the offending," he said.
"This is a very serious matter before the court."
Mr Funston suggested to Ms Mendes that the excuse offered by her client, that she was merely continuing an ongoing family arrangement when she visited the house on September 30, 2019, as fanciful.
"It's pretty clear what she was doing," he said.
"She went straight from court after me refusing bail and was going to that home."
The woman, now 32, previously pleaded guilty to doing an act intending to pervert the course of justice, after charges of threaten with intent to influence a witness to procure acquittal, intimidation and attempted intimidation were withdrawn.
Ms Mendes said "the entirety of the offending" was "confined to that particular conduct".
She said there was no evidence that what she did had any impact on the prosecution of the ex-partner.
Ms Mendes said her client was planning to relocate to Townsville in Queensland, but Mr Funston this would not happen "at the moment".
"An offence of this nature requires a jail sentence," he said.
But given her lack of criminal history and plea, he said this would be served in the community by way of a six-month intensive corrections order.