So I devised an escape route – I’d refuse to pay for fuel at a servo so that staff would call the police. The next day we were low on fuel. So I headed into a gas station.
‘I don’t have enough money to pay for the petrol,’ I told him blankly. ‘And my partner beat me up.’
He reached under the desk. He’s calling the police! Instead he pulled out his wallet.
‘I’ll pay for it,’ he smiled.
‘Thank you,’ I managed to force out.
I climbed back into my car, feeling deflated.
The following day, after hundreds more miles, we ran out of petrol again in Mitchell, Qld. I filled my car with petrol then walked into the station.
‘I’ve been beaten up and I can’t afford the fuel,’ I blurted out. Before the attendant could react, I walked out the door and drove off.
I prayed she’d call the police.
We’d barely gotten two miles down the road when I saw flashing blue lights in the rear view mirror. A police car! They pulled me over while Marcus hid in the back.
I was too terrified to beg for help. I knew what Marcus was capable of. But instead of asking about my injuries, officers took me to the police station.
‘Can anyone pay your fuel bill?’ they asked.
I was gobsmacked. Reluctantly, I gave them my godparent Ian’s number. As soon as I heard my godfather’s voice, I broke down.
‘He’ll kill me, he’ll kill me,’ I blurted out.
‘Who?’ he said.
‘I can’t tell you,’ I sobbed.
Ian told officers to check the car and they found Marcus. He was arrested immediately. My three-week ordeal was over. Taken to Roma hospital, women’s health counsellors called my parents and Mum raced to be with me.
Doctors revealed my nose was completely shattered into several pieces and I needed re-constructive surgery to glue it back together. In October 2018, Marcus Allyn Keith Martin, 24, appeared at Cairns District Court and pleaded guilty to three counts of rape and one count of deprivation of liberty.
He was later jailed for 10 years.
Marcus shouldn’t be allowed back into society. Now I’m speaking out to take back control of my situation.
Despite going the journey of hell, I’ve come out of the other side and I’m a survivor.
‘Control and domination’
Handing down Martin’s 10-year sentence in May, Judge Dean Morzone declared Martin a serious violent offender, meaning he must serve at least 80 per cent of his sentence. ‘You exerted control and domination through physical abuse and torment … psychological, emotional humiliation and degradation,’ he told Martin.
