‘Breathtakingly bad’: Serial DV offender charged with breach of bail, only to be released again

A serial domestic violence offender with a protracted history of violence has been released on bail again, 24 hours after a warrant was issued for his arrest when he failed to appear in court.

Guy Leslie Cramp, 33, was released on bail by a Midland magistrate last month despite staunch opposition from police prosecutors who argued he was both a threat to his victim, Chloe Wright, and the wider community.

Cramp pleaded guilty to the unlawful assault of Wright, which was caught on her CCTV cameras last November that she has shared with this masthead in a bid to raise awareness of domestic violence.

In granting Cramp bail, the magistrate said he was deemed suitable for a domestic violence offenders program.

But the decision has drawn fierce criticism from the state opposition, with deputy leader Libby Mettam describing Cramp as a “thug”.

“This thug has a 15-year history of violence and flouting the law,” Mettam said.

“What does this thug actually have to do to be locked up under the Cook Labor government?”

Cramp’s case took another turn this week when he allegedly breached those bail conditions on Tuesday after failing to appear in Midland Magistrates Court for a scheduled trial over allegations he assaulted two police officers last January.

A warrant was issued for his arrest, but a police spokesperson said they were “conducting inquiries into his whereabouts” despite Cramp wearing a trackable ankle monitoring bracelet.

When Cramp handed himself in to the court on Wednesday – 24 hours after he was due to appear – he was charged with breach of bail and appeared before a magistrate before being released back into the community.

“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’s victim has left her home and fled the country on the advice of the Department of Communities, which held grave concerns for her and her children.

She was left with a broken nose and a fractured cheekbone after his assault.

Mettam asked Police Minister Reece Whitby during parliament’s question time on Wednesday to address the matter.

“No government has done more in the area of family and domestic violence,” Whitby said in response.

“The police employ more resources than for any other category of offence currently, and that is a decision of the police.

“That’s a that’s a result of state government policy and the investment of resources. It’s a result of an increased willingness of victims of family and domestic violence to come forward because they know, they know that it is being accelerated.

“They know it is being treated seriously, and they know that this is a government that puts resources into this issue and takes it very seriously.”

Attorney General Tony Buti backed the court’s decision to release Cramp.

“The court would have heard all the evidence and information, and they made their decision,” he said.

Cramp is due back in court on April 16 to be sentenced over the assault of Wright, and again a week later over alleged assault of the police officers and the breach of bail charge.

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