Man who punched & throttled partner has sentencing delayed after unexpectedly ‘scathing’ pre-sentence report

A man who punched and throttled his partner has had his sentencing further delayed after details of an unexpectedly “scathing” pre-sentence report were revealed in court on Monday. Troy Andrew Hinton, 43, was set to be sentenced when he appeared in Kalgoorlie Magistrates Court for aggravated bodily harm, breach of protective bail conditions and impeding another person’s normal breathing. The lawyer who represented Hinton via phone call asked for the sentencing to be put off after Magistrate Paul Lyons read aloud the details of a pre-sentence report which described Hinton as having “limited victim empathy” and “lack of insight” into his offences. The defence lawyer said the report “flies in the face of” what he had previously understood about his client. He said it was almost as though another prisoner had been “mistaken” for Hinton as the subject of the report. The Community Corrections officer who wrote the report found Hinton to have taken “little to no responsibility”. The officer wrote that Hinton’s current and future partners would be most “susceptible” to his violence. The offences date back to June last year when Hinton assaulted his partner when she refused to kiss him hours after being granted bail for a separate earlier incident of aggravated assault against her. He became angry and lifted her off the ground by her neck, causing her to lose consciousness for several seconds before punching her as she lay in the fetal position to protect herself. The offences breached the protective conditions of Hinton’s bail which barred him from contact with his partner. Hinton’s appearance in the dock on Monday was from custody — he had just completed a 10-month prison sentence for a prior aggravated assault of his partner, among other offences. The pre-sentence report alleged that while behind bars Hinton assaulted his partner by throwing a hot cup of coffee at her during a visit. The report — which is designed to offer an objective insight into an offender’s background and circumstances — was ordered last month when Hinton’s sentencing was delayed for the first time. The defence lawyer who initially proposed an intensive supervision order would be the appropriate penalty said he would need to take further instructions from his client before proceeding to sentencing. Mr Lyons described the report as “frankly scathing” and said based on the report he would not be a good candidate for an intensive supervision order. The matter will go before the court again next month. 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)