A middle-aged man who responded to calls to move out by kidnapping his mother wants to return to beekeeping once released from custody, a judge has been told.
After kidnapping the 75-year-old woman, Roger Peter McGrath pushed her out of his car and over a guardrail, causing her to fall down an eight-metre embankment in the Snowy Mountains in February.
Some dense shrubbery on the side of Talbingo Mountain stopped the woman rolling further.
She suffered deep skin tears and bruising.
In jailing McGrath for a minimum of two years, Judge Mark Williams said the grievances leading to the "extraordinarily frightening" kidnapping was "an explanation but not an excuse".
The mother had mentioned she would soon go on on holiday with her husband and wanted her son to find accommodation elsewhere.
McGrath broke a window and drove off, only to return to the Talbingo property and stop his mother from calling the police.
He then bundled her into his car, leaving behind her overturned walker.
"In his words, he 'just cracked it'," his lawyer Robert Hussey told Wagga Wagga District Court on Thursday.
"It is simply a haphazard and erratic criminal enterprise borne out of the moment and on the back of compounding issues with poor capacity for emotional regulation."
Police arrested McGrath two days later in the mother's home, hiding under a bed with a TV remote and can of Coke in hand.
McGrath spent nine years in jail until November 2016 for the child sexual abuse of a primary-school-aged girl known to him.
After his release, he made good progress towards rehabilitation and found, for the first time in his life, something he earnestly enjoyed, Mr Hussey said.
"(Beekeeping) gives him great purpose and it's something he looks forward to returning to on parole supervision," the barrister said.
A series of grievances including the 2019/20 bushfires' impact on his hives and the suicide of a friend preceded the incident.
However, the Crown warned against placing much weight in statements of remorse and childhood deprivation presented through a psychologist's report.
"The level of violence, the threats to kills - it's a very nasty set of circumstances and a serious example of domestic offending," the prosecutor said.
The mother, now 76, previously told the court she suffered flashbacks and was now generally more nervous.
Her biggest fear was feeling unsafe once McGrath was released from custody.
Judge Williams found McGrath was remorseful and was entitled to a discount for an early guilty plea.
There were prospects of rehabilitating, provided McGrath could access help in protective custody, where he'll likely be held due to the prior offences, the judge said.
The threat of institutionalisation and childhood deprivation led to a finding of special circumstances and a reduction in his minimum term.
With backdating to his arrest, McGrath's full term will expire in August 2024.
Australian Associated Press
