Andrew Papaioannou avoids conviction for domestic violence
A woman fled her home after being verbally and physically assaulted by her ex-partner. The Wheelers Hill man has just been given a fine over the domestic violence incident.
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A man whose drunken rage scared his partner so much she ran from their home and hid in bushes has avoided conviction.
Andrew Papaioannou, 48, physically and verbally abused his former partner in their home over several hours, causing her to flee and the police to turn up, the County Court has heard.
The Wheelers Hill man has been fined $3000 over the “utterly deplorable”
incident after he pleaded guilty to one charge of common assault.
The court heard an alcohol-affected Papaioannou returned to their Rosebud home about 4pm on March 27, 2017 and verbally abused his then partner for some time.
After an hour she left the house, but was met with more shouting when she came back about 6pm.
Papaioannou punched and smashed a television and threw it into the garden, then cornered his partner in the kitchen, punching the air in front of her face, the court heard.
Soon after he took a cup of tea from her and threw it on the ground then grabbed her around the shoulders and chest from behind, squeezing her.
The court heard she could not break free and the pair ended up on the ground.
When he eventually let go, she ran to her car, and Papaioannou followed her and also got in the car.
She then ran down the street and hid in some bushes.
The court heard a friend drove from Berwick to pick her up from nearby shops, meanwhile Papaioannou phoned 000 and said his wife was missing and might be dead.
When she returned with the friend to collect her dogs just after 10pm, an “aggressive” Papaioannou followed her into the house and locked the door and grabbed her in another bear hug.
The friend and his mother heard the victim screaming, so the friend used a baseball bat to break a window, and he ended up wrestling with Papaioannou.
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The police arrived and made sure the friend and victim left the property safely.
Judge Douglas Trapnell said Papaioannou’s “utterly deplorable” actions constituted domestic violence, and had left his former partner with emotional scars and anger that still affected her.
“You had no right to make (her) feel unsafe, to intimidate or dominate her and absolutely no right to hurt her or hold her against her will,” he said.
The court heard Papaioannou had no previous convictions and had spent about $40,000 undertaking several residential rehabilitation programs for alcohol abuse in Toorak and Glen Waverley since the incident.
Judge Trapnell said not imposing a conviction would enhance Papaioannou’s prospects of rehabilitation.