Perth woman who was punched in head during DV attack in Northbridge has appeal against perpetrator thrown out

A magistrate has described the victim of a shocking domestic violence attack captured on CCTV as “petulant, volatile, confrontational, defensive and disrespectful” and the perpetrator as “otherwise a functional and intelligent person” who deserved only a $1500 fine for punching his girlfriend in the head. WA magistrate Robert Young took exception to the 25-year-old’s demeanour in court, insisting that if not for the footage of the attack outside the Art Gallery of WA on March 5 last year he would not have accepted the account that left her with a bruised face. “People aren’t accustomed to coming to court, generally speaking, not accustomed to giving evidence and may appear nervous, may mask that nervousness with overconfidence at times but there are rare cases in which a person’s demeanour in the witness box, I think, betrays their character generally,” Mr Young said. In this case he was so unimpressed, he found the victim to be in that category of witness. “So what that means, ultimately, is that I would not be prepared to accept her evidence unless it were corroborated by other evidence,” he said. The footage shows then-boyfriend Ryan Michael Tucker brutally punching her twice before stealing her mobile phone. “He essentially appeared to brace and crouch and then straightens his legs as he swings his right arm towards her head and as I described in discussion with the parties, it appeared to be throwing an elbow,” Mr Young said. Tucker was charged with aggravated assault causing bodily harm, a sentence which could have had him jailed for up to two years but instead he was fined and walked away from court. WA Police pressed further charges against him after a 7NEWS investigation, however, WA’s Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions has since rejected the victim’s plea for an appeal into his sentence. It comes as court documents, obtained by 7NEWS, revealed in new detail how the victim was cross-examined by her abuser and described as “defensive and disrespectful” on the stand by a magistrate. When played vision of a punch to the head, Mr Young said, “I would view it more as throwing an elbow” before describing her bruised and swollen face as “relatively superficial”. Mr Young labelled the incident as “situational” after reading the impact statement detailing months of domestic violence and described Tucker as “otherwise a functional and intelligent person”. In imposing a fine, Mr Young said: “I simply can’t see this as being at a level whereby a sentence of imprisonment would be appropriate. “I don’t say that to minimise what happened here, and certainly I don’t say that to minimise family violence generally. “I found her to be petulant, volatile, confrontational, defensive and disrespectful. “I imagine that those adjectives may well describe her more broadly. And because of that he wouldn’t accept her evidence.” Premier Roger Cook on Monday said he felt the victim “deserves to have her voice heard and to be treated with respect”. If you or someone you know is experiencing family violence, phone 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) or the Crisis Care Helpline on 1800 199 008.