Published June 2026
Assault and property damage charges | acquittals and costs order
Perrella Legal successfully defended a client against assault and property damage charges arising from the breakdown of a personal relationship. The proceedings concluded with formal acquittals and a substantial costs order in our client’s favour.
A bitter relationship breakdown produced allegations of assault and property damage that threatened not only our client’s liberty and criminal record, but also his employment and professional future.
The allegations were made by a former partner following the end of a long-term, on-again off-again relationship. By the time the matter came to court, the relationship had deteriorated significantly and the allegations had become part of a broader and highly charged dispute between the parties.
Our client denied the allegations from the outset. The prosecution alleged that he had assaulted his former partner and damaged property during the course of the relationship breakdown. For our client, the stakes were particularly high. A criminal conviction could have had consequences extending far beyond the immediate penalty imposed by the Court, including damage to his reputation, employment prospects and future professional opportunities. Given those risks, the matter was prepared carefully for trial.
We reviewed the prosecution brief in detail, examined the complainant’s account and considered the evidence of the only other witness. We also obtained material from defence witnesses and worked through the sequence of events so that the case could be presented clearly if the matter proceeded to a contested hearing.
The preparation was directed not only to the factual allegations themselves, but also to the credibility and reliability of the prosecution case. Shortly before trial, the prosecution advised that the complainant and the only other prosecution witness were no longer willing to give evidence under oath and were no longer cooperating with police. That development significantly changed the position. Without the complainant and the supporting witness, the prosecution case faced obvious difficulties. The prosecution initially indicated that it intended to discontinue the charges.
At first glance, that might have appeared to be the ideal outcome. For our client, however, a simple discontinuance did not necessarily provide the finality he needed.
A charge that is discontinued may, depending on the circumstances, leave open the possibility of the prosecution being brought again in the future. For someone whose employment and professional reputation were already under a cloud because of the allegations, that uncertainty was important. Our client wanted the matter brought to a complete end.
On the morning of trial, we therefore pressed for a more definitive resolution. Rather than simply allowing the charges to be discontinued, we sought an outcome that would prevent the allegations from hanging over our client indefinitely. We successfully persuaded the prosecutor to offer no evidence in relation to each charge.
That distinction was important. Once the prosecutor offered no evidence, the Magistrate entered judgments of acquittal on the charges.
The result was not merely that the prosecution stopped. The charges were brought to a final conclusion in court, with acquittals formally entered in our client’s favour.
For our client, that finality was critical. He no longer faced the risk of a criminal conviction arising from the allegations, and he was no longer left with the concern that the same charges might simply be revived at some later date. The result also allowed him to move forward professionally and personally without the uncertainty of unresolved criminal proceedings continuing to affect his future.
Following the acquittals, we also applied for an order that our client’s legal costs be paid. The costs application was granted in an amount substantially similar to that sought. That order was an important additional outcome. Our client had been required to incur legal expenses in preparing to defend allegations which, by the morning of trial, the prosecution was no longer in a position to prove.
The final result was therefore comprehensive. Our client avoided criminal convictions for the assault and property damage allegations, obtained formal judgments of acquittal, secured finality in relation to the prosecution, and recovered a substantial proportion of his legal costs.
The case demonstrates why the precise way in which criminal charges are brought to an end can matter. A discontinued prosecution and a judgment of acquittal are not always the same thing from a client’s perspective. In this case, ensuring that the prosecution ended with formal acquittals gave our client the certainty he needed after a difficult relationship breakdown and allowed him to move forward without the allegations continuing to cast a shadow over his professional future.