Woman left bleeding in Orange domestic violence assault while on hold to Centrelink

The man, who is not named to protect the identity of the victim, backed his former partner into a corner on the floor, threatened her with a chair and hit her with a mobile phone making her head bleed.

The man pleaded guilty in Orange Local Court to intimidating the woman, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and contravening an apprehended domestic violence order on December 7, 2021, as well as contravening an AVO on January 22, 2022 and failing to appear in court on November 9, 2022.

Magistrate David Day said the man had an "extensive" record for domestic violence and his offending required a jail sentence.

"There needs to be a powerful message sent to the community," Mr Day said.

According to court documents, the man woke up the woman about 8.30am on December 7, 2021, and asked her to go to the shops to buy cigarettes but she refused and an argument started.

The argument resumed in the living room and the victim sat on a dining chair and asked the man to pay her $100 in rent money and when he refused she yelled at him and asked him, and his mother, to leave her house.

The victim used a man's mobile phone to call Centrelink and while she was on hold she again told him to leave but he picked up a chair and threatened to, "put this chair over your head you mother f---er," and demanded she shut her mouth.

The man then snatched the phone from her and hit her on the back of the head with it causing a gash that bled straight away. The victim attempted to stand up and move away but the man stood over her and prevented her from getting up.

With nowhere to go and cornered by the man, she sat on the floor against a wall. It was then blood from her wound smeared on the wall.

As the woman began to cry, the man threatened her saying "I'm going to kill you, do you want me to f---ing kill you?"

The entire incident took place in front of the man's mother and a young child who ran over to sit with her mother when she saw her mother crying.

Eventually, after swearing and yelling at the victim for some time, the man moved away from her and she was able to go into the bedroom to clean her head wound.

When the woman returned from cleaning her wound, the man said he was calling the police and he had a conversation with unknown people on his mobile, during which he said the victim had been abusing their daughter. Hearing this the victim grabbed the child and left the house and yelled at her mother-in-law and the man to get out and that she was calling the police.

She walked to another house nearby and at 12.08pm she called the police using her sister's mobile phone. She said the accused had destroyed her mobile phone on a previous occasion.

Police arrived at 12.15pm and spoke with the victim. She provided a domestic violence statement and photos were taken of her injuries. The wound was still bleeding and the victim said she felt dizzy so an ambulance was called.

Paramedics recommended the victim go to hospital to have the gash stitched or glued together but the woman declined to go to hospital or receive treatment.

A search for the man was unsuccessful and the victim said the man had no current fixed place of address and had been staying with her.

An enforceable AVO was taken out to protect the victim following the assault however, about 7.30am on January 4, 2022, the man was seen arguing with the woman again.

Police arrived and knocked on the door and forced entry when no one answered.

The police didn't find anyone at the house but then received another phone call giving a different address and found the man sitting on the front verandah. He was arrested and cautioned for outstanding arrest warrants.

The victim, who he wasn't supposed to be in contact with, came outside, spoke with him and handed him her phone to call his family.

He said he had stayed the night with the victim and they'd got into an argument in the morning. He said he was aware of the AVO.

Another arrest warrant for the man was made on November 9, 2022, when he failed to appear in court and he was refused bail in Orange Local Court on January 12, 2023, after he was arrested on January 11.

During sentencing, solicitor Pravinda Pahalawela said the man had attended residential rehabilitation for his drug addiction but was removed from the program following a positive drug test.

"He did participate in two programs, a domestic violence program and and a drug-related program," Mr Pahalawela said.

"He started using drugs at quite an early age of 13, he started with cannabis.

"The main thing [the man] was dealing with at the time of offending was meth."

He said his client also pleaded guilty at the first opportunity and he was subject to conditional liberty at the time of offending.

Reading from information presented to the court, the magistrate, Mr Day, said the man crossed the custodial threshold with his offending and a full-time jail sentence was required.

Mr Day convicted the man, who was already in custody when he appeared via an audiovisual link from jail and said he'd already served about eight months in custody in total.

The assault occasioning actual bodily harm, intimidation and contravening the AVO on December 7, 2021 earned an 18-month jail sentence with a six-month non-parole period.

The sentence was backdated to when he went into custody on January 11, 2023.

Two counts of failing to attend court, also earned the man a six month full-time jail sentence.

Mr Day also gave the man a three community correction order that requires him to abstain from drugs for 18 months for contravening the AVO in January 2022.

He could be eligible to be released from jail on July 10 this year.

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