‘Hit me, c**t!’ Petrie man threatened with jail after sparks fly between former flames

Alleged provocation no excuse for the ‘bad behaviour’ by a Petrie father of four, Pine Rivers Court heard.

A former flame allegedly torched her ex-boyfriend’s fence when she realised he’d married another woman, dousing his work shirt in kerosene before setting it alight, the Pine Rivers Magistrates Court heard today.

John David Cerruto, 32, allegedly watched the scene from inside his Petrie home. His four children were inside, the fire brigade had been called, and he’d decided that enough was enough.

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The lawyer for the defence told the court Cerruto’s ex-partner had allegedly been harassing him for months, driving past his home, yelling at him and throwing objects on his lawn.

No charges were laid against Cerruto’s former partner.

Rather than make a complaint to the police, Cerruto decided to take matters into his own hands.

According to police prosecutor Bevan Manthey, on the morning of August 1 Cerruto drove to his ex-partner’s address two streets away and began a verbal argument with her, grabbing her by the hoodie and pulling her towards him while yelling in her face.

John Cerruto pleaded guilty to assaulting his former partner after she allegedly set his fence on fire.

A scuffle ensued in which Cerruto grabbed the woman by the hoodie several times as she tried to escape.

One one occasion, Cerruto pulled the woman towards him and yelled, “Why don’t you f*****g hit me you c**t?”

Cerruto let the woman go and got back into his car, where he drove up alongside up and wound the window down. Once again, he leaned out the window and grabbed her by the hoodie, pulling her towards the car.

The woman struggled, pulled back and took the hoodie off, the force of which pushed her to the ground where she grazed her elbow on the road.

Her neighbours witnessed the entire event, capturing images of it as it happened.

Cerutto pleaded guilty to assault occasioning bodily harm, and while Magistrate Trevor Morgan said he understood Cerruto may have been provoked, it didn’t come close to excusing his “bad behaviour”.

“He assaulted her five times, the fifth time causing her bodily harm,” Mr Morgan said.

“It might be something that happened in the spur of the moment, but when you realise what’s gone on you might pull your head in.

“But you did it five times. Violence in that sort of situation usually exposes yourself to imprisonment.”

Cerruto was convicted and fined $1500.