A Fairy Meadow man has said he will fight allegations he bashed his estranged partner and threw an open beer can at her during a drinking session inside her Balgownie home, despite the presence of a court order that prohibited the pair from having any contact.
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Police documents tendered to Wollongong Bail Court on Monday said Simon Catling, a senior accounts manager for a technology company in Sydney, had been banned from having any contact with the woman under the terms of a domestic violence order put in place in June 2019.
However, that didn't stop him from being present at the woman's home on Sunday afternoon, when the pair allegedly began drinking Tooheys New together.
It is alleged they got into an argument, prompting Catling to throw a chair at the victim, police said.
"The accused then chased the victim out of the room and as the victim was running down the stairs, the accused threw an open beer can at the victim, hitting her in the lower back area," the court documents read.
"The accused then came downstairs with a thin metal pole where the accused continued assaulting the victim by hitting her about the body."
Police allege Catling punched the woman a number of times during the ordeal and at one stage threw a stick at her that had a nail protruding from it, and at another time kicked her in the back.
When police arrived at the house, they documented a number of injuries on the woman's lower back, arms, upper back, face, head and hands, and she was given medical attention.
Police arrested Catling at his Fairy Meadow home in the early hours of Monday morning and charged him with property damage, assault and contravening an apprehended violence order.
In court later that day, defence lawyer Anthony Goodridge entered pleas of not guilty to the property damage and assault charges on Catling's behalf.
He said the six hours Catling had spent in custody had been a "salient" experience for him and he would agree to any conditions to secure release on bail.
Police opposed bail, saying the allegations against Catling were concerning and he was already on bail for similar offences against the same victim.
However, Registrar Tina McKenna granted Catling bail on the conditions that he not go within 100m of the woman's address and comply with the conditions of the AVO.
As part of the bail, she also banned Catling from drinking alcohol or taking drugs that were not prescribed to him by a doctor. The case will return to court on October 17 for further mention.
