A Fairy Meadow who attacked his partner while she was showering will spend up to 16 months behind bars.
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Benjamin Sandry, 40, entered a late plea of guilty to a charge of common assault on the day set for his hearing. Sandry had previously pleaded guilty to contravening a court order.
On October 15, Sandry called his former partner and apologised for his previous behaviour, stating he was sober and remorseful.
Later that afternoon, the woman arrived home and found Sandry inside her unit.
Documents tendered to Wollongong Local Court reveal Sandry had been drinking alcohol while waiting for his ex-partner to come home.
Soon after the pair began to argue, before the woman went to the bathroom and told Sandry she was going to have a shower.
While the woman was showering with her back to the shower curtain, Sandry ripped back the curtain and grabbed the victim's neck and shoulder from behind in one hand.
Documents state Sandry was holding a knife in his other hand.
The woman began screaming for police before Sandry fled the premises, but not before grabbing a spare set of keys.
Later that evening, when police arrived the woman told police that she feared for her safety after Sandry's latest attack.
Wollongong Local Court heard that Sandry was a repeat domestic violence offender, with multiple charges and convictions on his record.
Magistrate Gabriel Fleming said there was "zero tolerance" for domestic violence.
"[Prison] is where repeat domestic violence offenders end up."
Sandry's lawyer Caitlin Drabble said her client had a record that "didn't assist him".
Following a period between 2005 and 2018 where Sandry did not come to the attention of police, Sandry committed multiple offences in 2018 and 2019.
These convictions led to the former garbage truck driver losing his job, however Sandry had found employment as a labourer in the years since.
Ms Drabble told the court that Sandry had completed domestic violence courses while in custody, which Ms Fleming acknowledged but addressing Sandry, who appeared in handcuffs in Wollongong Local Court, told him his behaviour was "absolutely appalling" and "disgraceful".
"This is your domestic partner, intimate partner, if there is anyone she should be able to trust it's you," Ms Fleming said.
After covering that Sandry had breached the apprehended violence order that prohibited him from going near or contacting his former partner, Sandry could be heard to say "my mistake", which drew an incredulous reaction from Ms Fleming.
"It shouldn't be your mistake because you've been convicted of breaching an AVO before."
Ms Fleming said there was no alternative to jail for Sandry and sentenced him to 16 months for the assault and 14 months for contravening the court order with an eight month non-parole period.
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