Former Australian cricketer Michael Slater sentenced to four-year jail for domestic violence

Former Australian cricketer Michael Slater has been sentenced to four years in prison, partially suspended, after pleading guilty to several domestic violence charges. Slater, however, walked free as his sentence was suspended given that he had already spent more than a year in jail.

Slater was remanded in police custody in April 2024 after being charged with various crimes, including assault, strangulation, burglary, and stalking involving a woman in Queensland's Noosa region. He was denied bail last year after which he collapsed in the court.

The Judge, Glen Cash, who announced Slater's sentence at the Maroochydore District Court in Queensland, said that the former cricketer's addiction to alcohol was the root cause of the problem. He also stated that Slater's rehab won't be easy, according to a report by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

"Your rehabilitation will not be easy - alcoholism is part of your make-up," Cash told the court, highlighting the significant challenge rehabilitation poses in such circumstances.

Slater's lawyer, Greg McGuire, pushed for a three-year jail term with immediate parole, saying that the former cricketer had cooperated with the judicial process, adding that he had abstained from alcohol for over a year while in prison. McGuire also informed that Slater wishes to return to New South Wales to be with his family. However, the judge rejected the plea and handed a four-year prison sentence to Slater.

Slater has struggled with mental issues in the past. He had previously been involved in multiple domestic violence offences. In late 2022, Slater was sentenced to a two-year community corrections order by a Sydney court after he was found guilty of common assault and attempted stalking of a woman.

Slater played 74 Tests and 42 ODIs for Australia, scoring 5312 and 987 runs respectively. He also scored 14 Test hundreds for the country.

The victim, whose identity remains confidential, reportedly endured a prolonged campaign of harassment and assault beginning in late 2023 in the Noosa region of Queensland. The court learned that Slater’s threats of self-harm were intended to intimidate the victim into silence about the ongoing abuse, causing her considerable fear and distress.