Benjamin Brian Butler pleads guilty to serious assault charges, choking, attempting to drown woman
A woman who was subjected to a horrific act of violence thought she was going to die after she was forcibly held under water for 20 seconds in a cowardly act of jealous rage.
NSW
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A woman who was subjected to a horrific act of violence thought she was going to die after she was forcibly held under water for 20 seconds in a shocking act of jealous rage.
Benjamin Brian Butler, 44, currently in custody at Cessnock, pleaded guilty to a number of charges in the Gosford Local Court including choking, intimidating, assault occurring actual bodily harm, using an offensive weapon, and contravening an apprehended violence order.
Court documents state in February 2023, Butler and the female victim matched on a dating app called Plenty of Fish and began a romantic relationship.
On many occasions, Butler would become angry and threaten to hurt the victim.
In September 2023, the victim sent a message to Butler stating she thought they were better off as friends.
On the afternoon of September 16, 2023, the victim was at Lions Park in Woy Woy where she was talking to another man by the water.
The pair were observed by Butler’s friend, who thought he saw them hugging.
He phoned Butler and said: “I think she’s down here with another bloke.”
Moments later, Butler arrived the park and grabbed a hammer from his vehicle before he approached the victims, yelling “is this how it is?”, with the hammer raised.
The man, fearing Butler, ran from the scene.
Butler then approached the woman with the hammer and, fearing for her safety, Butler’s friend forcibly grabbed the hammer from him.
Butler then pushed the victim causing her to fall down onto the rocks below.
He jumped down to where the victim had fallen between the rocks and walked towards her.
The victim shouted “it’s not what it looks like, it’s not what it looks like” to which the offender responded “then what is it then”.
Butler grabbed the victim by her arm and dragged her into the water.
He then forced the victim’s head under water and held her head in a headlock under the water for approximately 20 seconds.
The victim could not stand up and felt pressure around her neck.
Documents state she tried to scream under the water but pressure was maintained against her neck. She could not breathe and thought she was going to die.
Butler’s friend intervened and pulled him off the victim.
In a voicemail, Butler made admissions to the offence.
“I just lost my shit; I just hurt some people,” he said, according to court documents.
“He took off like you wouldn’t, I couldn’t get him, he took off, he f--king ran … I got her mate, I got her good. F--k her.
“Lucky, lucky he was there … I grabbed her head to drown her.”
The woman spent 12 days in hospital and suffered a number of injuries including a scalp haematoma over parietal bone and rib fractures.
Between September 23, 2023 and November 9, 2023, Butler made multiple calls from custody to the victim and other women, which were in breach of his AVO.
Butler will be sentenced in the Gosford District Court at a later date.
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