Ashley Campbell, 36, pleads guilty to aggravated burglary, assault

A court has heard a woman’s terrified screams on the phone to emergency services as her “frightening” ex-partner shut off her power and kicked in her door.

Ashley Campbell. Picture: Facebook

A court has heard a woman’s terrified screams on the phone to emergency services as her ex-partner shut off her power and kicked in her door.

Ashley Campbell, 36, fronted the County Court at Geelong on Friday via videolink from Hopkins Correctional Facility in Ararat for a plea hearing.

Campbell pleaded guilty in September to aggravated burglary and common law assault, stemming from an incident from January 27 last year.

Campbell went to the woman’s house in Armstrong Creek to confront her and assaulted her after kicking down her front door.

The woman made three phone calls to emergency services during the incident, with the third being played in court on Friday.

In her screams and panicked words to the dispatcher as Campbell banged on her door, the woman’s fear and terror were palpable.

According to documents released by the court, Campbell shut off the woman’s power in an attempt to get her to come out, and after kicking in her door he grabbed the phone from her hands, shouted at her and struck in the mouth with his elbow.

The woman decided not to provide a victim impact statement, crown prosecutor Andrew Moore said, because wished to “move on with her life”.

After almost two years of delay, Campbell accepted responsibility for the incident as preparations for a trial were underway.

The prosecution also provided summaries of past offending by Campbell against two other women, including a 2021 assault.

Campbell’s lawyer, barrister Timothy Sullivan, made the case for a jail sentence but with a longer parole period than usual.

Mr Sullivan told the court Campbell had accommodation lined up on release, as well as employment thanks to a man he met at Port Philip prison, who ran a company in Ballarat and was willing to hire him.

The court heard three psychological reports regarding Campbell had been prepared, with the most recent being handed up to the court on Friday morning.

The court heard reports referenced Campbell’s “past head injuries” and “chronic substance misuse”.

Judge Gerard Mullaly said Campbell still displayed an “entitled view and his frightening attitudes” in the latest report, continuing to minimise and justify his actions.

Campbell did not want to get into another relationship with a woman as he felt “weary and mistrustful of women”, according to the report.

“Where is the hope in respect of his attitude to women and women in relationships?” Judge Mullaly asked.

Judge Mullaly suggested Campbell’s lack of insight was either due to an organic or acquired brain injury, or he has a disordered personality and his views about women were “enduring and unshiftable”.

Mr Sullivan said the report “paints a picture” of who Campbell is, one that was “frightening, but there’s hope”.

“It’s the criminal justice system that is going to be his salvation,” Mr Sullivan said.

“He’s learning to live with himself … he doesn’t need a relationship to expand his identity or reflect his identity.

“In that kernel, I say there’s hope here, he’s turned a corner.”

Campbell will return to court on December 10.

Originally published as Ashley Campbell, 36, pleads guilty to aggravated burglary, assault