Ex-serviceman Matthew Lee Bolch jailed in Taree court over Manning Point assaults

A former serviceman who was active in Afghanistan has a long history of violence in the community. He attacked his partner and a random stranger at a Mid-North Coast van park, a court heard.

The Big 4 caravan park at Manning Point.

An ex-army commander with a long history of alcohol-fuelled violence has been jailed for recent attacks on both his partner and a random stranger at a Mid-North Coast caravan park.

Matthew Lee Bolch was born in Goulburn and trained at the Holsworthy Barracks military training school, Taree Local Court was told on Tuesday.

He appeared over videolink after being remanded behind bars on Sunday for breaching a court order preventing him being in the company of his partner.

The 37-year-old’s lawyer Matthew Giles said his client had been a commander of his brigade and saw active service in Afghanistan before he was discharged in 2009.

Mr Giles told the court Bolch suffered post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and chronic depression and that he lived on an army pension.

Bolch and his partner, who the court heard was expecting their first child, recently moved to Manning Point, a small coastal village near Taree, where the recent offending occurred.

Matthew Bolch was sentenced in Taree Local Court on Tuesday, July 30. Picture: Facebook.

Magistrate Allison Hawkins told the court Bolch was a repeat domestic violence offender who had been given chances “to engage in meaningful rehabilitation”.

She said court findings of special circumstances in the past had not reaped “tangible benefits”.

Ms Hawkins said the community was fed up with “primarily men, causing havoc with uncontrolled violence”.

On the afternoon of March 12, Bolch was drinking at the Manning Point Big 4 Caravan park, where he was staying, when his dog got off its lead and started roaming. It sparked an altercation with a couple who had their dog secured near their caravan.

Bolch suffers from PTSD after active army service in Afghanistan, the court heard.

A woman told Bolch to keep his dog under control which “enraged” him, police state in court documents.

She retreated and her 65-year-old husband told Bolch to “get your dog and f--k off”.

Bolch opened the latch to their camp site and walked up to the older man.

“I don’t give a f--k if I’m on your property, come on, hit me, hit me,” he said before he grabbed the man by the collar and punched him in the face.

Park managers called police, who observed Bolch to be unsteady on his feet and smelling of alcohol, the court documents state.

The following month, on April 17, Bolch and his partner went to the Old Bar Tavern where they won a jackpot on the pokies, enjoyed lunch and drank alcohol, the court was told.

They returned to Manning Point and a fight broke out when Bolch asked the woman to clean a pan and she replied: “You do it, I’m not your mother.”

Bolch became enraged and he grabbed the woman, according to court documents. He got up close to her face, but she broke free and called police, who attended soon after but could not find Bolch.

Ex-soldiers suffering from PTSD facing courts for domestic violence offending is not uncommon in regional NSW.

He was picked up travelling in the same car as his partner on Manning Point Dr later in the week, on Sunday, after they visited the tavern again.

Bolch admitted to drinking alcohol and being in the presence of a protected person, breaching the order.

Bolch pleaded guilty to the two assaults and breaching a court order. He was sentenced to two years and two months in jail with a non-parole period of 18 months.

He will be eligible for release on parole on January 27, 2026.

Originally published as Ex-serviceman Matthew Lee Bolch jailed in Taree court over Manning Point assaults