A man has narrowly avoided jail time for impersonating a police officer to 'deviously ' track down his wife and child at a women ’ s refuge . On Friday , Ruben Costa , 35 , pleaded guilty to impersonating a member of the police force , but was only handed a two-month suspended sentence , according to the NT News . The incident occurred when the Northern Territory man returned home from work to find his wife had left him , taking their son and possessions . Ruben Costa , 35 , pleaded guilty to impersonating a member of the police force , but was only handed a two-month suspended sentence . The father pretended to be a police officer investigating a crime over the phone , claiming he needed the assistance of taxi drivers in the area . Costa was unable to contact his wife but , assuming she had left in a taxi , lied about his identity in a conversation with the taxi company to hunt down his spouse . The father pretended to be a police officer investigating a crime over the phone , claiming he needed the assistance of taxi drivers in the area . Prosecutor Marilyn Lester told the Darwin Magistrates Court that Costa told the taxi operator that he was searching for a woman who had abducted a young boy . The taxi company put a call out to all staff and subsequently located Costa ’ s wife and son at women ’ s shelter . The incident occurred when the Northern Territory man returned home from work to find his wife had left him , taking their son and possessions ( stock pic ) When Costa received this information he confronted his wife at the shelter , resulting in an argument . According to Costa ’ s defence lawyer Peter Orr , Costa has been denied access to his son since the altercation . Orr insisted that Costa ’ s actions were due to serious worry and concern . Magistrate Cavanagh told the Darwin Magistrates Court that Costa ’ s actions were ‘ devious and dishonest ’ , according to the NT News . However , he was spared a prison sentence due to his ‘ remorse , work ethic and high standing in the community . Prosecutor Marilyn Lester told the Darwin Magistrates Court that Costa told the taxi operator that he was searching for a woman who had abducted a young boy .
Darwin 's Ruben Costa impersonated police officer to find his wife and child . He came home from work to find his wife had left with his young son . Costa called a taxi company , pretending to be a police officer searching for a woman who had abducted a child . The taxi company were able to provide Costa with his wife 's location . Costa confronted his wife at the women 's refuge where she had fled . She admitted that her husband was not in fact a policeman but an undercover cop sent by the government to locate her.