Tyler McPherson, 21, originally faced a more serious charge of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, but yesterday pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of male assaults female and intentional damage.
The court heard that on December 21, his girlfriend of one month came to his house and an argument broke out.
The girlfriend had brought a knife with her and brandished it during the squabble.
He responded by punching the woman multiple times in the head and face and a ring he was wearing cut her forehead.
The defendant also threw the woman’s phone, causing minor damage to it.
In a statement to the court yesterday, the victim wrote she suffered a concussion and sprained neck, but made a ‘‘speedy recovery’’.
She had reflected on her own behaviour and was sure she would not end up in a similar situation again.
‘‘She has moved on from the incident and hopes that you will do the same thing,’’ Judge Maria Pecotic said.
The Crown acknowledged there was an aspect of self-defence in the attack.
Counsel Andrew Dawson said it was clear the presence of the knife was what escalated the situation.
The judge sentenced McPherson to five months’ imprisonment, to be added to the sentence he is already serving.
In January last year, he was jailed for two and a-half years for a string of car crimes including stealing a Mazda Demio from outside a mechanic’s workshop and taking it on a joyride.
McPherson was caught on CCTV driving the wrong way down a one-way street, mounting a kerb and entering a pedestrian-only roadworks zone.
After parking in town, he challenged some men to a fight, then followed them, barging into the back of one before pulling out a screwdriver and demanding he hand over his belongings.
But he fled after a member of the public informed him his actions were being caught on camera.
