Aaron Taylor ambushed heavily pregnant woman with hammer, threatened her with knife

A judge has condemned the “cowardly behaviour” of a Bendigo man who ambushed a heavily pregnant woman with a hammer. Warning: Distressing content.

A Bendigo man has been sentenced for what a judge has described as a “sadistic and violent” attack on a pregnant woman.

Aaron Taylor, 30, was sentenced in the Melbourne County Court on Thursday for charges including assault, false imprisonment and making threats to kill over an incident involving a woman known to him on July 17, 2021.

The court heard Taylor immediately called a taxi to drive him back to the victim’s house after he had been bailed from Bendigo Police Station over an earlier incident.

The victim had fled her home to stay with a friend for the night after learning he had been bailed, only returning to her house the following day.

The victim and her friend staked out her home for an hour until she felt confident he was not inside.

After walking through the front door and searching her house, concluding he was no longer present, the heavily pregnant victim began walking back towards the front door.

It was then that Taylor suddenly ambushed her, grabbing her with one hand while he brandished a hammer with the other.

Taylor locked the front door and dragged the woman back to the lounge, where he punched her in the face and caused her lip to split and bleed.

The court was told Taylor threatened to stab the victim if her friend “called the cops”, before threatening “to kick and stab her baby out of her” and that he would “come back with others and shoot her”.

He then retrieved a knife from the kitchen and demanded cigarettes.

When she responded that she might have some in her car, he grabbed her hair and steered her outside while continuing to hold the knife up to her.

The court heard it was at this point that police arrived and Taylor became “enraged” at this, forcefully dragging her back into the house by her hair and clothing as she screamed for the police to help her.

He warned police against entering the house, saying he had a knife, but the woman was freed once officers deployed capsicum spray and were able to arrest Taylor.

On Thursday, the court heard Taylor had a relevant criminal history of violent offending but that he had pleaded guilty at an early stage.

Judge Anne Hassan condemned the incident as a “cowardly attack” involving ”frightening and distressing threats against the victim and her unborn child”.

“As the courts have said again and again and again, male violence directed at women is intolerable and those who commit such crimes will receive stern punishment.”

She stated the offending was “too serious” for a community corrections order, noting a term of imprisonment was the only appropriate sentence.

He was convicted on all charges and sentenced to two years and 10 months imprisonment, with a non-parole period of one year and 10 months.

If you or someone you know needs help, call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or call Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636.

Family violence support is available via Safe Steps online or by calling the 24/7 crisis line on 1800 015 188.

Always call Triple-0 in an emergency.