Aaron Paul Brightwell: Disgraced real estate agent jailed for ‘absolutely shocking’ assaults

A disgraced Wollongong real estate agent has been locked up for multiple “shocking and shameful” attacks on his on-again-off-again girlfriend.

A Wollongong man who described himself as being “groomed in the military and now leading an honest real estate career” has been sent to jail for three years for his ”shameful” crimes against his girlfriend.

Prior to his sentencing on Tuesday, Aaron Paul Brightwell had pleaded guilty to two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, two counts of common assault, two counts of destroying or damaging property and five counts of contravening an apprehended violence order.

The 40-year-old has publicly blustered that his military experience instilled him with “discipline” that has seen him ”turned into an ethical and hardworking real estate agent”.

However, Brightwell’s discipline and ethics weren’t evident when he assaulted his girlfriend on multiple occasions in 2020, some which occurred while the victim had an AVO in place against him.

The appalling behaviour commenced at 8.30pm on Friday, August 28, 2020 when his girlfriend, who he had only been in an on-again-off-again relationship for a few months, was hanging out with a male friend at her home.

Brightwell arrived at the address and was yelling and banging on the front door before he kicked the door in, breaking the lock in the process.

The male left the property and then Brightwell grabbed his girlfriend by the throat and held her against a wall as she tried to cuddle him in an effort to get him to relent.

Aaron Paul Brightwell described himself as disciplined, ethical and hardworking. Picture: Supplied

The victim managed to flee to a neighbour’s house and they told her they had recorded the audio of the incident and that she should report Brightwell to police.

She went to her car where she cried for half an hour when Brightwell called her and begged for them to “work out their issues”.

She drove to Brightwell and as they were driving around near Port Kembla, he spat in her face and demanded he be allowed access to her phone.

Brightwell told the victim to stop the car while he looked through messages on her phone and when she tried to get her phone back, he grabbed her head and headbutted her which caused her to “scream and wail” in agony.

Brightwell said he was “sorry” and that he ”won’t do it again” before convincing her to switch seats so he could drive her to the hospital, however, on the way there he told her “we will sleep it off” and headed towards her home.

Once she was at her home she drove herself to the hospital fearing a significant brain injury.

On Wednesday, September 2, 2020, police attended the victim’s address as she wished to report Brightwell.

She handed over the audio recorded by her neighbour, two pictures of her caved-in front door and told police she was “worried because she didn’t know what he would do”, adding Brightwell had also been making threats to her colleagues.

That night the victim tipped off police that he was at her address when they came and placed him under arrest.

Brightwell was placed on a AVO which wouldn’t expire for 11 months, however, that didn’t stop him from continuing to terrorise the woman.

On the October long weekend Brightwell confronted the woman at her abode which kicked off a several-hour argument which turned physical with the house salesman chucking her on a bed and kicking her in the leg.

Aaron Paul Brightwell continued to terrorise the woman despite an AVO being in place. Picture: Supplied

She tried to usher him out, but Brightwell punched her in the face, causing her to collapse to the floor.

Around this date, the victim was driving her car with Brightwell in the passenger seat and he lost his discipline, getting angry and kicking the windscreen which caused $300-worth of damage.

On the night of Friday, October 30, 2020, Brightwell banged on the victim‘s door and when she refused to let him in he yelled “I don’t care about the AVO or going to jail, you tell the police and I’ll get you”.

The following day at around midday, the victim received four missed calls from “No Caller ID”.

She answered the fifth call from “No Caller ID” and recognised it as Brightwell who said ”Why aren’t you answering?” with the victim responding ”Just leave me alone” before hanging up.

Over the next 90 minutes, the victim received another 10 calls from “No Caller ID” with her sister, who was with her at the time, convincing her to report Brightwell to police.

At 5.30pm, the victim attended Wollongong Command where she told police about Brightwell’s criminal behaviour, explaining she had been too scared to come forward due to fears for her safety.

Aaron Paul Brightwell will be eligible for parole in January next year. Picture: Supplied

The victim also showed police photos she had taken on October 6 of bruising on her leg and face which were a result of Brightwell’s assaults.

In court on Tuesday, Magistrate Gabriel Fleming admonished Brightwell’s “disgraceful” actions while also acknowledging the impact the violence would have on the victim.

“Domestic violence offences are abhorrent and the community and the court has no tolerance for them – zero,” she said.

“No one wants to live in a community where next door someone is getting grabbed by the throat or given a black eye – it’s a disgrace.

“[The offences] occurred in her home and in her car, places where she should feel safe … it’s shameful, shameful behaviour.

“Your actions are absolutely disgraceful, absolutely shocking. This would have had an incredible impact on the victim who would have thought they would be protected by the apprehended violence order.”

Brightwell‘s sentence has a non-parole period of 12 months and given he’s already served 166 days in custody, he will be eligible for parole on January 31, 2022.