Sydney man charged with striking young girlfriend to the jaw in domestic dispute
A MAN accused of repeatedly bashing his girlfriend allegedly told police she was not in his southern Sydney apartment before officers found the young woman cowering in his bedroom.
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A MAN accused of repeatedly bashing his girlfriend allegedly told police she was not in his southern Sydney apartment before officers entered and found the young woman cowering in his bedroom.
Benjamin Goddard, 28, pleaded not guilty to charges of common assault and assault causing actual bodily harm after an alleged incident at his Sutherland unit on Monday night.
Police say they received an anonymous phone call reporting a domestic dispute just before 7.30pm on October 8.
According to the police statement of facts tendered in court, Goddard’s former girlfriend allegedly attended his unit to collect some of her possessions before she was struck in the jaw with an object while her back was turned.
Reading from the facts, the magistrate said “blood dripped from (the victim’s) mouth into her hands” immediately after the first alleged strike.
Photographs of the woman tendered to the court allegedly show her jaw “appears to be out of line”, and “three distinct marks on her oesophagus”.
Goddard has been refused bail and will return to Sutherland Local Court on Friday.
When police attended Goddard’s apartment he allegedly denied his girlfriend was there before officers entered the premises and found her in his bedroom “concealing herself beneath pillows and blankets with fresh injuries”.
The woman is yet to provide police with a statement as she allegedly told officers she feared she “would be killed” if she spoke out, according to the facts.
Goddard’s lawyer told the court he had been employed part-time for the past three months and picked up work through Airtasker, a site where users can outsource tasks to other community members.