Dale John Blake bashed and bit his girlfriend at Gympie Music Muster

A Rockhampton tradie who bashed his girlfriend, knocked her to the ground and bit her ear at a music festival campsite last year has walked free from a Gympie court.

A 35-year-old man has pleaded guilty to assault occasioning bodily harm after bashing his girlfriend at the Gympie Music Muster.

A Rockhampton roofer was sentenced to jail but released immediately on parole on Tuesday after being convicted of bashing his girlfriend in public at the 2023 Gympie Music Muster.

Gympie Magistrates Court heard Dale John Blake, 35, grabbed his girlfriend of six months at a campsite at the festival, threw her to the ground, punched her, and bit her ear on August 25, 2023.

When she returned to her seat, he struck her again, knocking her to the ground.

She was left with bruises, swelling and bleeding on her face, arm and back as well as a split lip.

Her ear was bitten, leaving blood behind it.

The court heard the woman had suffered ongoing headaches since the assault.

According to police prosecutor Christie Mahoney, Blake initially “tried to explain away” her injuries, saying they were the result of her being drunk.

Lawyer Chris Anderson told the court Blake was an “unwanted child” of divorced parents with alcohol struggles.

His stepfather abused both he and his mother, he said.

Blake had struggled with drugs in the past, and been diagnosed with intermittent explosive disorder and obsessive–compulsive personality disorder.

Dale John Blake grabbed his girlfriend, threw her on the floor, punched her, and bit her ear.

He attempted suicide several years ago, overwhelmed as he struggled to balance work, caring for his children and trying to convince his partner at the time to stay clean after a drug relapse.

Blake had committed a significant number of domestic violence offences between 2013 and 2017, perpetrated against the mother of his children, the court heard.

The Muster assault was preceded by verbal abuse and derogatory remarks.

The incident occurred at a Gympie Music Muster campsite in 2023.

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Magistrate Bevan Hughes described the behaviour as “egregious” and “unacceptable in civilised society”.

He said the fact that this was not his first victim showed a “primitive attitude towards women”.

He said it was “not the way real men treat women”.

Blake “should have insight into how it feels” to be abused by a man, and said he had “made the transition from abused to an abuser”.

“Part of being a father means modeling behaviour,” the Magistrate said.

He said Blake should show his son “how women are to be treated properly” and his daughter “the way she should be treated by men”.

He noted that Blake wanted to rekindle a relationship with his children, providing an “incentive to become a better man”. Or just “a man”, Mr Hughes said.

Blake was sentenced to nine months in jail, with immediate parole release.

A conviction was recorded.

Originally published as Dale John Blake bashed and bit his girlfriend at Gympie Music Muster