A MENTALLY ill man held hands with his four-year-old daughter when he was brought before Dubbo Local Court on two charges of common assault.
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The 46-year-old disability pensioner was arrested on March 9 after a woman reported domestic violence to police.
The man pleaded guilty in May when the charges were adjourned for three months under the mental health act.
Magistrate Michael Price was told the man had been given an opportunity to prove he could comply with a mental health treatment plan.
On Wednesday a Legal Aid solicitor asked for the charges to dismissed.
"He has had three admissions to mental health facilities since the incident," the solicitor said.
"The admissions were for one or two weeks each. He had experienced suicidal thoughts and received intensive care and support.
"He has shown he is prepared to follow a treatment regime and is aware he is at risk of going to jail if he is not diverted from the criminal justice system."
Dressed in jeans, joggers and a suit coat, the man sat quietly beside his daughter who held a pink adult's handbag and a children's book.
The court was told the man had been abstaining from alcohol and had given an undertaking not to drink at all.
Magistrate Price said the man had multiple admissions to psychiatric units to address long-standing issues.
The assault charges were dismissed under the mental health act.
The man was ordered to attend mental health counselling, take prescribed medication, abstain from drugs and alcohol and consent to apprehended violence orders.
"What will happen if you muck this up?" Magistrate Price asked.
"I will lose everything," the man said.
The man was warned jail would be the first port of call if he breached court orders.
Police said the man caused a woman to fall and cut her leg during an argument at a housing department enclave in West Dubbo on the morning of March 3.
Two days later the woman was again assaulted when she returned home from work.
Prosecution facts tendered to the court said the woman knocked on the front door but the man would not let her in. The woman walked to the rear of the house and entered the laundry, finding washing all over the room.
Police said the woman was upset because she had asked the man to hang out the washing. An argument ensued.
Police said the man shoved the woman in the chest and tried to push her out the laundry door. The woman grabbed hold of the door frame and slipped down to a seated position.
The man walked away. When the woman entered the kitchen the man punched her in the ribs. The impact to the right side of her body brought the woman to her knees.
The court heard the man stood over the woman and asked "What are you going to do now?"
The woman told police she ignored the man's attempts to entice her to fight. She later went to hospital for treatment.
The domestic violence was reported to police on March 6.
The woman told officers she had been living in fear for months due to arguments and unreported assaults.
