A Victorian father has been accused of using threats, violence and intimidation to force his family into bonded labor on his regional farm.
The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared in the Victorian Supreme Court on Monday on the first day of his trial which is expected to last six weeks.
He has pleaded not guilty to all charges, including seven counts of causing another person to enter and remain in bondage.
In his opening address to the 14-strong jury, Patrick Doyle SC said the prosecution’s case was about a family “living under tyranny”.
“The defendants dominated their lives through physical violence, threats and intimidation,” he said.
“Not only did he abuse his physical power over them, but he also abused them psychologically and emotionally… for years he succeeded.”
“They lived under tyranny in every sense of the word.”
Doyle told the court the family moved from interstate to a property in Victoria.
The trial is expected to last six weeks as the prosecution will claim the family lived under the strict control of the father.
Over a six-year period before police intervened in 2021, the man allegedly forced his wife and six children to work, controlling other aspects of their lives, including when they could eat, drink and shower, Doyle said.
“They did it out of fear of being beaten by him if they did not follow his instructions,” he told the jury.
“Any reasonable person would not have considered them free to refuse when he demanded that they work on the farm.”
Doyle told jurors that prosecutors alleged he exerted control over every aspect of their lives, preventing the children from having friends at school and his wife from having contact with her family.
He said the court will hear from each of the alleged victims about the defendant’s behavior, which allegedly included threats with firearms and farm equipment.
“The prosecution’s argument is that when they moved onto (the farm) they were conditioned to be subservient to the will of the defendant,” Mr Doyle said.
‘Conditioned to obey him; conditioned to fear him.
The man allegedly kept his family under tyrannical rule with threats and intimidation (file image)
The court was told the couple first married several decades ago and the man allegedly immediately demanded submission.
While he is not charged with a crime in New South Wales, Doyle said the jury would hear evidence from the period to show the “dominance” exerted over the family was established long before they moved to Victoria.
Doyle will continue to deliver his opening remarks Tuesday before his attorney, Alexander Patton, gives the defense’s response.
The trial continues.