In the dying days of a strained marriage, an argument between our client and his former wife escalated into a physical confrontation. What they could agree upon was that the other had been both the instigator and the aggressor. It was our client, however, who was charged with assault and released on bail.
As a consequence of protective bail conditions prohibiting contact with his former wife, our client was required to leave the former matrimonial home.
A few days later, while using Instagram, our client inadvertently saved a reel to his default collection. This caused an automatically generated notification to be sent to his former wife. In her view, the notification amounted to prohibited contact and she reported the matter to police.
Our client was subsequently charged with breaching his protective bail conditions, despite there having been no deliberate message, conversation or attempt to communicate with his former wife.
Our client pleaded not guilty to both the assault charge and the alleged breach of bail. The matters were listed for trial and we prepared to contest the allegations.
On the morning of trial, the prosecution’s position softened and we identified an opportunity to negotiate a favourable outcome.
We persuaded the prosecution to discontinue the charge of breaching protective bail conditions in exchange for our client pleading guilty to the assault charge on substantially amended facts. Importantly, those amended facts properly acknowledged the role played by his former wife in the incident and presented a more balanced account of what had occurred.
Our client was sentenced by way of a modest fine and granted a spent conviction order.
The withdrawal of the bail breach charge, the significant amendment of the assault facts and the granting of a spent conviction enabled our client to put a difficult and forgettable chapter of his life behind him.
Allegations of assault arising from relationship breakdowns are often complicated by conflicting accounts, heightened emotions and related protective bail conditions. Even accidental or automated social media activity may result in an allegation that a no-contact condition has been breached.
Careful analysis of the evidence, the wording of the bail conditions and the circumstances of the alleged contact can make a significant difference to the outcome.
Our Perth criminal defence lawyers regularly represent clients charged with assault, breaching bail and family violence-related offences throughout Western Australia.