Kebab shop owner, SCU law student and former Lismore mayoral candidate Big Rob stepped back from repeatedly defending himself at the bar table in Lismore Local Court on Monday after engaging the services of Legal Aid.
The 45 year-old faced two counts of breaching an Apprehended Personal Violence Order APVO by ‘publishing or broadcasting a person’s name prohibited by section’, and a separate matter involving an alleged assault, stalking and intimidation at a Lismore restaurant, last November.
Mr Rob has pleaded not guilty to the publication of material contravening orders of an APVO involving Lismore Mayor Isaac Smith on Saturday April 8.
Cr Smith was granted an interim APVO in March, after he alleged Mr Rob posted harassing and intimidating material about him and his family on Facebook.
Mr Rob’s solicitor Tom Trembath entered not guilty pleas to both charges of publishing or broadcasting a person’s name.
Magistrate David Heilpern ordered the brief of evidence in relation to the alleged breach of the APVO to be served on the defence by June 5.
He adjourned Mr Rob’s APVO matters until June 19.
Assault, stalking charges annulment hearing
In a separate matter, police have applied to have two convictions against Big Rob over the alleged assault, stalking and intimidation of a woman at a Lismore sushi restaurant last November annulled.
The 2016 mayoral candidate faced three counts of stalking and intimidation, and one count of assault, over the alleged incident on November 22.
Magistrate David Heilpern told Lismore Local Court on Monday there were originally three charges listed against Mr Rob, assault, stalk/intimidate and using a carriage service to menace/harass/offend.
On Monday March 3, Mr Rob represented himself in the Lismore Local Court on all three charges.
When he walked from the court before Mr Heilpern had finished with his matters he was found guilty on each charge.
Police then informed Mr Rob he had been found guilty and he lodged a section 4 annulment application.
In court yesterday (April 24), Mr Heilpern said when the Commonwealth charge of using a carriage service to menace/harass/offend was previously withdrawn against Mr Rob, police replaced it with two counts of stalking and intimidation – sequences four and five.
‘Police have made an application in respect of sequences four and five,’ Mr Heilpern said.
‘The convictions with respect to sequences four and five are annulled.’
Mr Trembath then told Mr Heilpern that Mr Rob had made a section four annulment application over the remaining charges of assault and stalk/intimidate, and requested he disqualify himself from presiding over the annulment hearing.
‘If there is an application for me to disqualify myself then you need to make that application now,’ Mr Heilpern said.
No application for Mr Heilpern to disqualify himself was made.
The annulment hearing was set down for May 30 at Lismore Local Court.
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