First NSW Prison Sentence for Coercive Control Marks Legal Milestone
A Sydney man who subjected his partner to years of psychological manipulation, physical violence, and financial control has become the first person in New South Wales to be jailed for coercive control offences. Callum Fairleigh was sentenced to two years imprisonment with a non-parole period of fifteen months in a landmark case that demonstrates the state's new coercive control laws in action.
Pattern of Abuse and Control Emerged Quickly
Samantha, who has spoken to media using only her first name, met Fairleigh on Tinder in 2018. 'He did say he loved me within two weeks,' she told A Current Affair, noting that he asked her to move into his eastern suburbs home just one month later. 'What I didn't realise was that he was kind of gaining control over me. From then, I think things started to shift slowly.'
The controlling behaviour manifested through constant surveillance and demands. 'If I didn't respond to him, he would then blow up my phone and be like "Why are you ignoring me? What are you doing? Who are you with?"' Samantha described Fairleigh as intensely jealous and possessive, tracking her location and demanding she delete male friends from social media.
Escalation to Physical Violence and Financial Control
Text messages obtained by The Sydney Morning Herald revealed threatening communications when Samantha attempted to socialize with friends. On one occasion, Fairleigh wrote: 'Cancel the plan... I won't ask again. I'm not asking, I am telling you,' followed by five missed calls. Another message demanded: 'Answer the phone. Do as you're told. Show your love by not talking down... about your partner to people who have impacted the relationship directly and hate me... be on my team always.'
The abuse intensified after Samantha became pregnant with their daughter in 2019. 'I spent a lot of my pregnancy at home alone,' she recalled. 'I believed I needed him to live. I believed I needed to be a family in order for my daughter to be happy.' Even after childbirth, when Fairleigh presented a kind facade to medical staff, the abuse resumed immediately upon returning home.
The violence became physical when Fairleigh placed Samantha in a stranglehold during one incident. 'He had one hand around my neck and one over my face,' she described. 'I think in that moment, he either tried to grab the keys or my phone and snapped my finger.'
Breaking Point and Legal Intervention
In 2024, after missing a curfew while celebrating her birthday with friends, Samantha faced three days of intensified abuse during which Fairleigh confiscated her house keys and withdrew her money. This proved to be the breaking point. After dropping her daughter at childcare, Samantha went directly to police.
Fairleigh was charged in February under New South Wales' new coercive control legislation, which criminalized such patterns of abusive behavior in July 2024. The court imposed a ten-year apprehended violence order to protect Samantha alongside the prison sentence.
Understanding Coercive Control Patterns
According to Monash University's Professor Kate Fitz-Gibbon, coercive control represents 'a pattern of abusive behaviours rather than one specific incident or tactic.' She explained that this sentencing decision 'demonstrates a milestone in the operation of the new offence in action.'
Professor Fitz-Gibbon emphasized that criminalization represents only one aspect of addressing coercive control. 'Preventing coercive control and supporting victim-survivors to seek safety, to recover and to heal remains the broader challenge we must address,' she stated. 'There is still significant progress to be made to ensure that acts of coercive control are not dismissed as less serious forms of abuse.'
Recognizing Warning Signs of Coercive Control
Professor Fitz-Gibbon identified several red flag behaviors that indicate potential coercive control situations:
- Erosion of Autonomy: 'Victim-survivors often describe reaching a point where they feel they need permission for everyday decisions,' she noted. This includes where they go, who they see, or how they spend money.
- Social Isolation: 'A person using coercive control may discourage or prevent their partner from spending time with friends and family,' Professor Fitz-Gibbon explained. This creates barriers to maintaining support networks.
- Financial Control: Restricting access to money, monitoring purchases, preventing employment, or demanding justification for small expenditures represents 'a key tactic of people who use coercive control.' These behaviors create dependency and make leaving relationships more difficult.
The professor summarized that victims often feel 'like they were constantly walking on eggshells' as their world becomes smaller and choices more limited. 'When one partner consistently holds that level of power and control over the other, it reflects a deeply unhealthy and potentially abusive dynamic,' she concluded.
