A WOMAN who admitted to biting her partner during an argument over cheating allegations has been sentenced to a community corrections order.
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The 36-year-old woman appeared in the Bendigo Magistrates' Court this week where she pleaded guilty to nine charges including assault.
The court heard on June 9 this year, the woman had a verbal argument with her partner over allegations he had another girlfriend.
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During the argument, the woman bit the man on the left side of his chest.
Later that day, the woman called her partner a "rat dog" before ordering him to leave. She then punched the man in the nose before he fled and called the police.
The woman was arrested at a Bendigo petrol station on June 11 after police conducted a welfare check.
She admitted to police that she was a "biter" but denied punching the man.
The woman also pleaded guilty to a series of offences from 2015.
The court heard she was seen driving erratically along the Calder Freeway in Bridgewater in August of that year.
When she was stopped by police, she recorded a blood alcohol reading of 0.056. She was on a probationary licence at the time.
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The woman also admitted to assaulting two teenagers outside of the Bendigo Library in September 2015.
Defence lawyer Christine Callaghan told the court the woman had been hospitalised for significant mental health issues, including bipolar and schizophrenia.
Ms Callaghan said the woman had also been chronically homeless for 10 years and experienced blackouts as a result of epilepsy and alcohol abuse.
The defence lawyer submitted that a therapeutic community corrections order would be an appropriate sentence because the woman wanted to improve her mental health and find meaningful employment.
Magistrate Patrick Southey described the biting incident as a "serious assault" and said it was "frightening" that the woman was driving cars erratically.
But Mr Southey accepted a corrections order with a focus on mental health and substance abuse treatment would be appropriate.
The woman was sentenced to an 18 month community corrections order. She was also disqualified from driving for 12 months.
"Don't assault people, don't bite people especially, and don't drive cars," Mr Southey advised the woman.
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