A man who beat a child with his belt in the middle of bushland was sentenced to a total of three years and three months jail on Wednesday.
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The man was charged with two assaults that caused actual bodily harm, contravening Apprehended Violence Orders, possession of cannabis, and acting with intent to influence a witness. He is not named to protect the identity of the victims.
Magistrate David Day said the offences took place in January this year after an AVO had been put in place to protect the man's partner.
Mr Day said the child, whose age was not disclosed in court, was seen walking by himself along Mount Canbolas Road at 10.10am on 23 January, 2020, and passersby took him to the Mountain Tea House.
The man collected the boy 20 minutes later and drove him and his mother further into the bush where he stopped and forced the child out of the car.
The man then took off his belt and hit the child causing a large bruise on his legs and across his back from his left hip to his right hip.
"Taking a belt with a buckle and the buckle-contacting the child is a most serious matter," Mr Day said.
The boy's mother tried to intervene and the man struck her with an open hand causing bruising to her nose and face.
About 11.30am they stopped at a service station in Orange and the boy reported the assault to a witness who phoned the police. The boy also disclosed the assault to the police and showed his injuries to ambulance officers who took him to Orange Hospital.
Mr Day noted that in a sentencing report the man suggested the assault would not be traumatic for the child.
The man was arrested at the scene and found in possession of 7.8 grams of cannabis. While in custody he attempted to influence a witness.
"He contacted [the woman] and told her to tell the court that she had assaulted herself due to mental health issues," Mr Day said.
"He told her to take the child and not attend court so there were no witnesses.
"Having her attempt to thwart the criminal justice system, it's a serious perversion of how the system should and does work."
Solicitor Andrew Rolfe said the man had spent eight months in and out of jail on remand for these offences.
The man was given a two-year and two-month non-parole period. Mr Day back dated the jail sentences to June 28, 2020, and said he would take into account the lengthy time the man had spent on remand while subject to COVID-19 protocols.
His earliest possible release date is August 27, 2022.
Mr Day also convicted him without further action for possession of a prohibited drug.
The man is appealing the severity of the sentence in Orange Disctrict Court in December.
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