Melbourne, AU, Herald Sun News
A MAN who planted tracking devices on his ex-wife then threatened to “f*** up” her new lover has launched an appeal, despite pleading guilty to his offending.
Peter John Gale planted tracking devices, and a listening device, on his wife Kaye’s car three days before she walked out of their 21-year marriage in September 2012. Weeks later he also fixed a similar tracking device to the car of Darren Edgell, Ms Gale’s new partner.
But that was just the beginning of his obsession as he struggled to cope with the breakdown of his marriage. In the weeks after his wife left and moved to regional Victoria, Gale sent her dozens of text messages, changed a password to one of her email accounts and accessed her mobile phone records – forcing her to change her number twice.
He started appearing wherever she was, and at the height of his stalking, broke into her home and stood at the end of her bed shining a torch in her face as she lay with Mr Edgell. After yelling that they were “cheating c***s” Gale started jerking a cattle prod toward’s Mr Edgell’s leg before fleeing. He then sent him a text threatening to “f*** you up”. “Happy birthday for yesterday you mother f***er f*** with me or my family I will f*** you up,” he said.
After being arrested and charged, Gale pleaded guilty in the County Court to two counts of stalking, aggravated burglary and threatening to inflict serious injury. But despite the guilty pleas, he has sought leave to appeal against his conviction and sentence, saying the evidence couldn’t support a conviction. Despite admitting the fact, Gale has argued that prosecutors limited the evidence that made up stalking charge so much that a plea of guilty could not be sufficient to maintain a conviction.
He is also arguing he didn’t receive adequate legal advice before entering his pleas.
Justice Bernard Bongiorno ordered Gale’s applications to be referred to the Court of Appeal pending further information to be filed with the court.