Rahul Mittal pleads guilty to unlawful assault

A Deakin student has avoided a conviction after unlawfully assaulting a woman, as his victim accuses him of having “no guilt” over what happened.

Rahul Mittal. Picture: Facebook.

A Deakin architecture student has avoided a conviction after slapping and headbutting a woman.

Rahul Mittal, 23, formerly of Mount Duneed, appeared in the Geelong Magistrates Court on Thursday and pleaded guilty to unlawful assault.

A charge of recklessly causing injury was struck out on the plea.

The court heard the allegations related to Mittal slapping and headbutting a woman known to him on March 6 this year.

The court heard Mittal admitted to slapping the victim when spoken to by police but said she had slapped him first.

Mittal denied headbutting the woman, stating the injuries were an “accident”.

The victim attended Geelong hospital on March 8, the court heard, and in a victim impact statement read to the court by police prosecutor senior constable Denise Frame, the victim complained that her right eye was not working properly and she had spent $5000 on medical costs including a CT scan, MRI and injections in her head.

Constable Frame noted the woman had a pre-existing condition that already affected her right eye.

In her statement, the victim accused Mittal of having “no guilt” and said she felt ashamed because of what happened.

“It’s hard to believe the person you love will become a monster one day,” she wrote.

The man’s lawyer, Pat Byrne, told the court his client hailed from India and had no prior criminal history, having been in Australia for two and a half years.

He said Mittal appreciated and “does not shy away” from the seriousness of his actions.

Magistrate Gerard Bryant suggested to Mr Byrne that his client’s actions “exacerbated” the woman’s existing condition.

“Perhaps, but there’s no evidence as to the extent of it,” Mr Byrne said.

In expanding on his client’s background, Mr Byrne spoke of a traumatic experience Mittal had suffered at the age of seven.

“Your honour, you can only imagine the impact that has had on his life since, and will continue to have,” Mr Byrne said.

Mr Bryne also provided context leading up to the incident but noted it “doesn’t excuse the offending” and Mittal pleaded to the allegations as put by the police.

Mr Bryant said that Mittal choosing to headbutt, despite knowing of the pre-existing condition the woman suffered was an aggravating factor, which Mr Bryne accepted.

The matter was stood down so Mittal could be assessed for a community corrections order (CCO).

When it returned, Mr Bryant placed Mittal on a 12-month CCO without conviction.

Originally published as Rahul Mittal pleads guilty to unlawful assault