Evan Wilson: Palmerston DV thug has more jail hanging over him after latest ‘outrage’ against partner

A Katherine-born Palmerston man got home drunk, disturbed his sleeping partner, then punched her in the head when she protested his behaviour, the second time he has assaulted her, a court has heard.

DV offender Evan Wilson, a Katherine-born father of two who lives at Palmerston. Picture: Facebook

A Katherine-born Palmerston man got home drunk, disturbed his sleeping partner, then punched her in the head when she protested his behaviour, the second time he has assaulted her, a court has heard.

Evan Wilson, an unemployed father-of-two, appeared in Darwin Local Court via audiovisual link, where he pleaded guilty to the aggravated assault of his on-off partner, which occurred in April.

The court heard that on the night in question, Wilson arrived home drunk then disturbed his sleeping partner.

When she protested his behaviour, Wilson punched her once in the face.

Wilson was remanded in custody on April 7, where he has remained since.

The court heard Wilson had a two-and-a-half page criminal history, which included a previous aggravated assault on his partner in 2019.

He also had convictions for breaching a domestic violence order in 2020, 2022, and last year, which defence lawyer Rachel Parsons characterised as “conditional breaches”.

Ms Parsons said her client held tickets in construction and ground maintenance, and would seek to gain employment once released from custody.

He had previously been involved in working for the Community Development Program and Garma Festival on a sporadic basis.

She submitted that the punch was at the “lower end” of the scale when it came to the aggravated assaults the court typically sees.

Judge Ben O’Loughlin agreed, although he noted that the assault was nevertheless an “outrage”.

He sentenced Wilson to five months’ imprisonment, with the balance of the sentence suspended forthwith for a period of 18 months.

Judge O’Loughlin said the defendant needed to treat his partner, who was supporting Wilson in court, “like a princess” for the next year-and-a-half or he would end up back in the slammer.