Our 34 yr old son has gone off the rails a bit in the last few years because of drugs and alcohol - meth at one stage. He had a DVO with a previous girlfriend (who also took drugs) which he contravened as a result of her coming and picking him up from our place. The police apprehended him because of an argument between the two, and because of his behaviour at the time they took him to a mental health unit. At court he was given a warning with no conviction recorded. He was on the streets for a few days until he was taken in by a kind fellow who tried to help him. He got some small job work for a while and in the last 6 mths he met a woman who is a solicitor and they seemed to get on well (our son is an intelligent young man who achieved an ATAR of 94) - except she also takes drugs and appears to be an alcoholic. I told him that it is a toxic relationship and for hime to get out of it. They started having fights and it is alleged that she threatened him saying “I could get you locked up any time I like”. She eventually took a DVO out on him - which was contravened by her going to his place after he broke it off. She went to the police, had him arrested alleging that he grabbed her around the neck. He was in the watchhouse for a couple of weeks and then transferred to remand awaiting trial. She has since contacted us several times expressing her concern about him, although I’m not sure about her sincerity. We have since discovered that she had visited him in the watchhouse pretending to be his solicitor, which seems to me to be a serious conflict of interest. Our son is not an angel, but this seems to be a bit “he says, she says”, yet with current community outrage and concern about domestic violence, and because of his foolishness, he has got himself into a very sticky situation. I as a parent feel annoyed that he has got himself into this situation and feel he will have make do with a duty solicitor (he does not have the money for a solicitor), and bear the consequences. Any advice would be much appreciated.
