Victim told they wouldn't 'make it out of here alive' in ferocious assault

The man, who The Daily Advertiser has not identified in order to protect the victim, was sentenced over a number of domestic violence encounters including intimidation and common assault in the Wagga District Court in December.

The man entered guilty pleas to one count assault occasioning actual bodily harm and one count of intimidate.

He was sentenced to prison for these two counts and a further two of contravening an apprehended violence order.

On or about September 9, 2022, the 28-year-old man contacted the victim and asked her to come and stay with him at a relative's home in Ashmont.

This was despite the fact he was mid-way through serving a fiveyear and seven month apprehended violence order which, among other things, meant that he was not to approach or try to find the victim or go within two kilometres of any place where she lives or works.

The order also stated he must not assault, threaten, stalk, harass or intimidate the victim or intentionally or recklessly destroy or damage her property or animals.

On making contact with the victim, the offender threatened to harm her and her family if she didn't come and stay with him.

Soon after this, the offender then met up with the victim at a location in the state's Central West before driving her to Wagga.

About 3am on September 13, 2022 the victim and the man were in his bedroom at the house and he was going through her phone, noting text messages between her and some of her male friends.

The victim told the man the messages were innocent in nature but the offender refused to believe that and held her against the wall, punching her in the head several times before releasing her.

She was punched several more times as she sat down and then attempted to escape, which was thwarted by her attacker grabbing her by the hair and continuing the assault. A ring on his hand caused a cut underneath her eye.

Her screams for help went unanswered, despite the man's sister and her partner being at the house during the ordeal. Instead, the man told her to "shut the f--k up."

The attack continued with the man punching the woman multiple times in the chest all the while continuing to interrogate her about the messages on the phone, before a blow to the side of the head knocked her out.

When she came to, the man was standing over her and her ear was leaking. But instead of help her, the man grabbed her and called her a "f--king slut", threatening to kill her "right here and now."

As she began to have a panic attack, the man spat in her face and told her to die before punching her several more times.

Soon after this, the woman walked to the front door and ran away from the house, but the man saw her leave and chased her down.

The woman managed to run from the house but was chased down, grabbed by the hair and dragged back towards the building while being threatened with more violence if she did not "shut up."

The ordeal continued with physical violence and interrogations before he eventually calmed somewhat.

About 6pm that night the man and woman had just returned from a service station when he became angry at her.

The pair entered the laundry and the man closed the door before holding a pair of manicure scissors to the victim's chest threatening to "shove" the scissors into her throat and kill her "so no one else can have you."

That night the pair lay down on the bed, but the victim could not sleep out of fear of the man.

The man again made threats that if she tried to leave she would "not...make it out of here alive".

Police facts tendered to the court also state the man "continuously call[ed] the victim on her mobile phone" and left several voice messages after the victim had left the house."

In sentencing the offender, Wagga District Court Judge Gordon Lerve noted the attack was "vicious and sustained."

Judge Lerve noted the "offender pursued the victim who was attempting to escape from him".

Noting the "ferocity of the attack on the victim" the judge found the assault occasioning actual bodily harm offence was "above the mid-range of seriousness".

He found the intimidation offence was "also above mid-range" and noted that the man had threatened the victim while holding the scissors.

Judge Lerve also found that the AVO contravention charge, relating to a four-day period in September 2022 and including the offending in the other charges, was a "particularly serious example of that offence."

Reflecting on the man's past, the judge noted he had an "unenviable criminal history".

This included a wide range of offending from common assault to driving while suspended, larceny, entering a dwelling with intent to steal, as well as failing to comply with reporting obligations and domestic violence offending including stalk/intimidate.

"I note that there are numerous convictions for failure to comply with reporting obligations," Judge Lerve concluded.

He also took note that the man committed the offences while out on parole.

Judge Lerve reflected on a comprehensive psychological report tendered to the court that found the offender had a "complex clinical and developmental history characterised by institutionalisation from an early age."

The report noted the offender had experienced "sexual abuse whilst in the care of the state" and had "significant ongoing symptoms of depression and anxiety and trauma."

Judge Lerve said the man's work history was "intermittent" and that he also had a "significant history of drug abuse."

Taking these and other factors into account, the judge concluded the "moral culpability of the offender is reduced because of the mental conditions suffered by the offender".

He said these "form a significant aspect of the offender's subjective case."

The defence counsel argued it would "be in the community's interest" for the offender to serve his sentence under intensive supervision in the community.

But Judge Lerve disagreed.

"Given the violence of the assault on the victim and the breach of parole for domestic violence offending, the concerns about public safety are obvious," he said, pointing out that "domestic partners are members of the public."

Noting he was a "repeat domestic violence offender" Judge Lerve said there was also a "very real issue of general deterrence."

The offender was sentenced to three years and eight months imprisonment - backdated to January 27, 2023 - a non-parole period of two years and three months.

He is first eligible for parole on April 26, 2025.