By MICHELLE HERBISON
A GEELONG Magistrate has sidelined a conviction in favour of a stern warning for a man who broke his partner’s nose with a punch.
Magistrate Ann McGarvie handed the man an adjourned undertaking with a 12-month good behaviour bond and ordered him to pay $500 to the White Ribbon Foundation, which campaigns to stop violence against women.
The 52-year-old man pleaded guilty to recklessly causing injury with the punch, which he threw during a heated argument at the pair’s home.
The accused claimed he was acting in self-defence to the argumentative victim who had thrown a glass bowl.
“Your punch to her was out of proportion to whatever she was doing to you,” Ms McGarvie said.
“She had to have time off (from work) and she had a black eye. No matter what that person is doing to you, you don’t hit back.”
Police Prosecutor Leading Senior Constable Siobhan Daly told the court the victim had approached the man as he sat in their lounge.
“The victim became argumentative and he hit her over the head with the magazine he was reading. She slapped him back then he punched her a number of times to the face.”
In an initial police interview the man admitted he had pushed the woman but denied punching her.
He later told police: “She was pointing her finger at me. When I hit her she started to back off.
“I felt my fist punch hit her. She went down to the ground and I saw blood coming from her nose.
“I did feel I punched her a bit hard.”
Defence lawyer Caetlyn Wells-Simon said her client was “genuinely distressed” by his actions, had proactively sought counselling and was back together with the woman.
“There’s a history between him and his partner of nine years. In a previous intervention order he was actually the protected person.”
Ms McGarvie said the incident was “out of character” for the first-time offender and he had expressed remorse for his actions.
The Independent last week revealed a 44 per cent surge in local family violence in the past year, according to new police figures.
Domestic assaults had reached 953, up more than 280 on the year before.
