Punches and kicks: Pair jailed under tough new domestic violence regulations

A 38-year-old from Orange was given a 16-month jail sentence with a six-month non-parole period from September 26 to March 25, 2019, and rehabilitation on parole for assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

The man was given the jail sentence for attacking his then partner of 22 years at 12.45am on April 21 after he confronted her and she said she no longer loved him.

According to police facts, the man punched the woman twice in the face causing her to fall onto a sofa bed and hurt her arm, then he kicked her in the side of the head while she was down.

Solicitor John Song said the man had an 18-year gap in offending until the assault.

On the afternoon of the sentencing, Mr Song launched a severity appeal and made a bail application for the man to be released until the appeal is heard in Orange District Court.

However, Orange Local Court magistrate David Day refused the bail application and said the offence was objectively serious and occurred in the home of the victim with children present.

The other man, a 30-year-old also of Orange, was given two concurrent nine-month jail sentences with a six-month non-parole periods for contravening an apprehended violence order and assault occasioning actual bodily harm to his then former partner.

According to police facts, he went to her house at 3.30pm on March 2 where they got into an argument, and after getting into the house he punched her in the forehead, causing a bump about half the size of a squash ball.

He then left with an infant, she followed him and hit him on the head with her phone while trying to get the child back and he pushed her into a bush, which left scratches including a 20-centimetre laceration on her leg.

Mr Song also launched a severity appeal for the man, who served three months in custody while on remand, and his bail was granted with strict conditions.

The tougher sentences were part of a reform that started last week and included a presumption that domestic violence offenders be given full-time imprisonment or a supervised community-based sentence.

Another sentence could be given if the court has clear reasons why it is more appropriate, although the safety of the victim must be considered.

This applied to a third man, a 28-year-old from Orange, who was convicted and given a 12-month supervised community corrections order and 50 hours of community service for throwing a carton of milk, which damaged the victim’s flat-screen TV at 1.20am on May 24.