PROSECUTORS have urged a County Court judge to give a Bendigo man a lengthy jail term for punching his then-girlfriend to the head at least 20 times over three occasions, once causing her to lose consciousness.
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Mark David Jessup, 26, pleaded guilty in Bendigo on Tuesday to 17 charges including eight counts of making threats to kill, three counts of assault and further summary offences.
On one occasion he threatened the woman with a 40-centimetre hunting knife.
The court heard Jessup drove away from police near Swan Hill at 3am on October 22 last year. He did not have headlights on and was driving on the wrong side of the Murray Valley Highway, before he was spotted stealing $53 worth of petrol at Nyah.
On December 19, Jessup used ice at an address in Bendigo before he launched an attack on his girlfriend, punching her 15 times and threatening to kill her. A sixteenth punch left her unconscious with a split lip.
Jessup lied to police when they arrived, telling them the woman had fallen over.
Jessup attacked his girlfriend again on January 6 before neighbours told him to leave her alone. He threatened to kill the neighbours, and placed his girlfriend in a headlock, punching her to the head multiple times.
He attacked her again later in the day at a house in Eaglehawk, punching her to the face and jaw, and threatened to “bring a gun”.
Three days later Jessup arrived at his girlfriend’s house at 3am and threw bricks through the front window.
He started “waving around” a 40-centimetre hunting knife while trying to remove the glass from the window.
Jessup fled on an unregistered motorcycle when police arrived.
He was arrested at 12.30pm later that day while trying to run from police on foot down Queen Street in Kangaroo Flat.
Jessup refused to cooperate with police and was unable to be interviewed.
The court heard he suffers personality disorders and has had long-standing drug addiction issues.
Crown prosecutor David Cordy said it was “sustained offending” against the victim that warranted a lengthy non-parole period.
“It’s all set against the backdrop of a long criminal history including a sentence of imprisonment which seems to have had no effect whatsoever,” he said.
“He just behaves in a completely unacceptable way.
“The attempted aggravated burglary is confrontational. It’s only by good luck that he was prevented from getting in.
“At 26, and having been in jail before, that’s not a youthful offender. That’s a man in the prime of his life who should know better and deserves serious punishment.”
Judge Howard Mason said Jessup had demonstrated remorse.
“He has instances of an explosive, uncontrollable temper and then he finds himself filled with remorse,” he said.
Jessup will be sentenced in Bendigo on Friday.
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