Argument ends with assault on woman
A NORLANE man left his girlfriend’s mother semiconscious on the ground and with a broken wrist after pushing her in an “unprovoked” attack as they argued over number plates.
Bradley Oates was at his Waverley Street home when he launched the attack in 2019.
Geelong Magistrates Court heard the victim was “propelled” off the home’s steps and on to a driveway, causing her head to smack the concrete.
The woman was almost knocked out as a result of the incident, with swelling and abrasions to her forehead.
She also suffered a fractured wrist while trying to break her fall.
Oates, 28, pleaded guilty on Thursday to unlawful assault and unrelated driving offences.
Prosecutor Jeremy Allen told the court the incident took place on the afternoon of March 25, 2019.
The victim arrived at Oates’s home where an argument erupted over number plates he had removed from a vehicle.
During the squabble, Oates grabbed the woman by her shoulders and “violently” pushed her towards the door in a bid to get her to leave, the court heard.
Once out the door, the woman fell and hit her head on the concrete driveway.
Oates was later questioned by police about the reason for the assault.
“Just things she was saying to me, I just wanted her out of my house,” he told officers.
The court heard Oates remained in a relationship with the victim’s daughter.
Defence lawyer Wendy Gibbons said her client had recently landed a job as a farmhand, as she urged the magistrate to note two years had now passed since the incident.
“He doesn’t resile from this offending, but I do ask you to consider things have moved on in a number of ways in his life,” she said.
Magistrate Peter Mellas said Oates’s conduct was serious.
“This appears to be an unprovoked assault on a woman, who ended up suffering what can only be regarded as a significant injury,” he said.
Oates will be sentenced on April 29.