A man who threatened to put his ex-partner "in the earth" has been described as always trying to "control" her.
Sean Robert Kirk split with his partner in March 2011, and she took out a protection order against him a month later. They had been in a relationship for three years and had one child together, the Whanganui District Court heard on Tuesday.
During the weekend of September 12-13, the victim contacted Kirk about looking after his son. Kirk, 41, ended up threatening her during the text conversation, police prosecutor Sergeant Stephen Butler said.
One of the text messages said "that's great for you and anything happens to my son and I will put you in the earth myself".
He pleaded guilty to threatening the victim and breaching the protection order.
Defence lawyer Roger Crowley said Kirk "should know better than to use a phone in an inappropriate manner and in particular use it to threaten the mother of his child".
He called it a "spat" between parents about access arrangements. "Mr Kirk understands that relations between [him] and his former partner need to be cordial for the benefit of his child."
Judge Lynne Harrison did not accept it was "just a spat".
"In her view, you have always tried to control her," the judge said, reading from the victim-impact statement. "She's fearful of you. On the day of this incident she was too scared to go to your place and wanted to meet somewhere neutral."
It was Kirk's first breach of the protection order. The judge sentenced him to 90 hours of community work and nine months of supervision.