"Vicious, unprovoked, inexcusable, thuggish, cowardly and gutless" were the words a magistrate used to describe the behaviour of a Dubbo man who kicked a woman in the head multiple times and threatened to stab her with scissors.
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Dylan James Fieldsend, now of Bathurst Correctional Centre, was chopping up marijuana at his home before he attacked his former partner in 2017.
When the woman raised concerns he was consuming drugs in the house, he lashed out and kicked her in the head multiple times while she was on the lounge room floor.
If you want to treat your partner like a piece of excrement you go to jail.
- Magistrate Roger Prowse
The 32-year-old also used a pair of scissors to attack her and she avoided puncture wounds largely because of the dressing gown she was wearing.
While giving evidence at Dubbo Local Court on Tuesday, Fieldsend's former partner said he also told her he would stab her in the face with the scissors.
"I was extremely scared," the woman said via audiovisual link.
When she was asked by Fieldsend's legal representative why she waited until more than a year to report the attack, she said she was afraid of the potential consequences involving a government department.
The woman said Fieldsend was only charged with the offences because a government social services program she later participated in connected her with police and essentially forced her to report the crime.
"If you want to treat your partner like a piece of excrement you go to jail," visiting Magistrate Roger Prowse told Fieldsend, who got himself kicked out of court twice for mouthing off at the magistrate.
Magistrate Prowse said Fieldsend "humiliated" and "denigrated" the woman when he called her a "slut", "dog" and other names.
Prior to sentencing he also read out Fieldsend's criminal record, which included multiple domestic violence crimes, breaches of apprehended violence orders, assault and intimidation offences.
Fieldsend pleaded not guilty to charges of arming himself with the intention of committing a serious offence with the scissors and common assault. He also pleaded not guilty to breaching an apprehended violence order after he wrote letters to the woman.
Magistrate Prowse convicted Fieldsend of all offences and sentenced him to 28 months in prison, with a non-parole period of 20 months.
Fieldsend said he intended to lodge an appeal and was heard saying "lying dog" when Corrective Services officers escorted him from the courtroom.