Senior Constable Ashleigh Bellotti was “absolutely ecstatic” yesterday after acting Judge Sir Robert Woods upheld his appeal and quashed the conviction recorded against him in October.

Bellotti was to serve a nine-month prison term, suspended in the form of a good behaviour bond, and have his employment with NSW Police terminated, but yesterday’s successful appeal changed his future.

Bellotti appealed to a higher court after he was found guilty of assaulting a 14-year-old boy in a paddock near Bunglegumbie Road last year.

Fellow police officers Senior Constable Nathan Byrne and Constable Andrew Wotton gave evidence against Bellotti, but Magistrate Darryl Pearce challenged that evidence as he handed down the guilty verdict in the local court in October.

Their conduct still rankles Bellotti, who yesterday said he was extremely disappointed in the way the investigation was conducted.

The charges related to Bellotti’s conduct after a police pursuit of a stolen utility in the early hours of April 19, 2009.

Bellotti was charged with two counts of common assault and two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm against a 14-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, allegedly involved in the car chase, and against Senior Constable Byrne.

At the October hearing Constable Craig Lynch and Senior Constable Ian Burns told the court that they witnessed Bellotti throwing the young boy over the fence, that the Aboriginal teen was punched in the head while he was handcuffed and face down on the ground after the police pursuit.

Byrne alleged that he had copped a mis-hit, and that there was a further one or two hits to the boy after he was on his feet.

Bellotti told the court he used his training to assess the situation and administered up to two hammer strikes to the boy’s arm in order to force it out from under him, before hitting the boy’s thigh when he kicked out.

He said he had asked for Byrne’s assistance in lifting the boy over the fence, but when he picked him up, all the weight went on to his side. It was then that Bellotti said he let go of the young boy with one hand causing him to fall to the other side of the fence.

Magistrate Pearce did not accept the evidence of Byrne and Wotton about the punches to the 14-year-old boy’s head and he had “difficulty accepting” that the two police officers had not discussed evidence during the hearing and investigation.

In relation to the incident at the fence, Magistrate Pearce said he accepted the evidence of Senior Constable Burns and Constable Lynch, finding him guilty of assault but not assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

The decision in Dubbo District Court marked a line in the sand for Bellotti, who yesterday said he was looking to put it all behind him.

Bellotti was suspended from duty with pay while waiting for his court appearance last year and said the period had been a mental and physical strain on himself and his family.

“I am lucky my family was able to help me out - I don’t know where I’d be without them,” he said.