‘The real Paul Arnold’: Councillor’s alleged domestic violence victim testifies in assault trial

In her fourth day of evidence on Friday, the woman said she told the former Lyons ward representative ‘he had gone too far’ and ‘I was aware of who the real Paul Arnold was’.

Former City of Darwin Lyons ward councillor Paul Arnold outside court this week after pleading not guilty to assault, deprivation of liberty and stalking. Picture: Jason Walls

The ex-partner of a former Darwin city councillor who allegedly assaulted her before bombarding her with phone calls repeatedly tried to end the relationship after learning “who the real Paul Arnold was”, a court has heard.

Arnold has pleaded not guilty in the Darwin Local Court to a string of aggravated assault charges as well as deprivation of liberty and stalking, following the acrimonious break-up last year.

Prosecutors allege the prominent local photographer headbutted the woman — who the NT News has chosen not to name — and attacked her with a “plastic bike toolkit” during the course of the relationship.

Under cross examination by defence barrister Jon Tippett KC on Friday, the woman said she eventually picked up “after multiple phone calls” from Arnold as the couple were in the process of separating “to tell him to f--k off”.

“He rang me, I never initiated a call with Mr Arnold,” she said.

“There was lots of ‘f--k offs’ actually.”

The woman agreed she spoke to Mr Arnold for up to 12 minutes but denied having “an extensive conversation with him over a range of topics”.

Paul Arnold has pleaded guilty to two counts of property damage after smashing the woman’s jewellery box and damaging some of her makeup. Picture: Jason Walls

“We were having a conversation of me telling him I knew everything that he had told everybody else in the triathlon club and I named the people and that there were minutes,” she said.

“You were not happy so you decided you were going to actually speak with him and tell him off and that’s what you did, you told him off for 12 minutes?” Mr Tippett asked.

“Correct, to try and get him to stop calling,” the woman replied.

“I told him multiple times to stop calling throughout the whole entire conversation, I told him this relationship was not going to continue, that he had gone too far and I was aware of who the real Paul Arnold was.

“I was to my threshold of being upset after being contacted multiple times over multiple periods and not having him listen when I told him to stop.”

Arnold pleaded guilty to two counts of property damage after smashing the woman’s jewellery box and damaging some of her makeup.

The trial before judge Therese Austin was due to conclude on Friday but is now expected to be adjourned until a later date after the court heard lengthy submissions on admissibility issues earlier in the week.