A man who brutally assaulted his ex-wife with a torch and then turned on his son, who came to his mother’s aid, has been jailed for up to two years.
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Mitchell Keith Burnett, 48, of Sandy Place, Long Beach, appeared via audio-visual link from prison in Batemans Bay Local Court on Monday, December 5.
He pleaded guilty to three charges, including two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and one count of contravening an AVO.
The assault occurred in the early hours of Tuesday, September 21, after arguments between Burnett and his ex-wife a day earlier.
Police said Burnett approached the 45-year-old woman in her bedroom with a 1kg torch in hand.
“The accused has entered (the woman’s) room without warning and began to assault (her), waking her immediately and commenced striking her with the torch to the left side of her head,” police said.
When Burnett’s adult son heard his mother “screaming out his name in distress”, he attempted to restrain his father so his mother could call triple zero.
Police said Burnett then turned on his son and struck him on his left hand and shoulder with the torch.
The woman and son were taken to Batemans Bay Hospital where they were treated for their injuries.
The woman suffered soft tissue injuries to her face and right wrist and lacerations to her face and scalp.
The son suffered soft tissue injuries to his left wrist and shoulder blade.
Court documents showed Burnett said he had no recollection of the assault.
Mr Dick sentenced Bennett to two years’ imprisonment, with a non-parole period of six months, with special consideration for his mental health issues.
‘It is clear that you have a difficult background,” Mr Dick said.
“Your problems are deep-seated and will require intense treatment over many years to come.”
Mr Dick held up a photo of the woman’s battered and bloodied face in the court and said “there is no justification for that”.
Bennett said he hoped to one day reconcile with his former wife and son, to which Mr Dick replied: “They will not forget what you did.”
“I never want to wear the greens again,” Bennett said.
He will be eligible for parole in March 2017.