Justin Michael Gaetano sentenced in Coffs Harbour court for domestic violence assault

A woman shoved into a bathroom vanity by her university academic partner told police “I’m terrified, I can’t do this anymore”. Now, he has been dealt with in court.

Coffs Harbour courthouse

A university academic has been convicted of assaulting his former partner after shoving the “terrified” woman into a bathroom vanity.

Justin Michael Gaetano was sentenced in Coffs Harbour Local Court on Monday to a 12-month conditional release order after being found guilty of an assault charge.

The court heard the 40-year-old, a “behavior specialist” from the Coffs Harbour suburb of Toormina, had been in a relationship with the woman for less than a year before the incident in February 2024.

According to a statement from a police officer investigating the assault, the victim said Gaetano had become “very violent towards me”, forcing her to lock herself in various rooms to get away from him at different times.

She also told police she was “terrified”, adding “I can’t do this anymore”.

Justin Michael Gaetano leaves Coffs Harbour Local Court on Monday.

“He wouldn’t leave. He wouldn’t stop. He just kept getting worse and worse,” the victim told police.

Gaetano pleaded not guilty, but magistrate Therese Hamilton found the victim to be believable and consistent in her evidence.

Ms Hamilton also said the delay in the victim reporting the assault was “not unusual in a domestic violence situation”.

She added that the woman had made “appropriate concessions about her own behaviour”, with court documents revealing the victim had pushed Gaetano off a bed, causing him to hit his shoulder, during one argument.

“I’m not going to lie,” the victim told investigating officers.

“I pushed him once. I struck him once, but that’s because he was screaming his head off.”

Gaetano was found not guilty of a separate charge of breaching an apprehended violence order in relation to another alleged victim.

The now-convicted criminal, who graduated with a doctorate in psychology and cognitive behaviour from Southern Cross University, has worked as an adjunct professor for University of New England in Armidale.

He has also written research papers for the NSW Government and tutored at various universities and TAFE campuses, according to web searches.

According to LinkedIn, he works as a clinical lead for ABC Behaviour Support, an NDIS-registered specialist provider on the Mid-North Coast.

Got a news tip? Email: [e-mail]

Originally published as Justin Michael Gaetano sentenced in Coffs Harbour court for domestic violence assault