A MORTLAKE man who assaulted his mother-in-law has been warned he will end up in jail if he continues with the same behaviour.
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Malcolm McDowell, 31, of Boundary Road, yesterday pleaded guilty in the Warrnambool Magistrates Court to unlawful assault.
On October 19 last year McDowell and his partner were at home drinking with a friend and neighbour.
The friend passed out and McDowell’s partner called her mother, who arrived at the house and said she’d call an ambulance for the young woman.
McDowell became angry and said he didn’t want to get in trouble. He then called his mother-in-law a “fat bitch” and pushed her into a door.
The woman called police and when interviewed McDowell said he didn’t push her, later saying he gave her “a gentle shove”.
The offending breached a community-based order which included he complete the men’s behaviour change program.
Defence counsel Kiernan Celestina said his client stated he’d learnt strategies to deal with his anger through the Men’s Behaviour Change program to which magistrate Peter Mellas said this was a classic moment where he could have put those strategies into use.
Mr Mellas said a report presented to the court showed as soon as McDowell got back on the grog it led to trouble and the last 12 months he’d spent on a corrections order had been a waste of time.
“You now know your history, you’re an angry drunk,” he said.
Mr Mellas said if McDowell came back before the court he risked ending up somewhere unpleasant where he would meet people “a lot angrier and a lot uglier than him”.
McDowell was convicted and fined $500 and ordered to pay $112 statutory costs.