A HAMILTON woman who has given up drinking after suffering alcohol poisoning had her penalty for assault reduced on appeal yesterday.
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Danielle Knight, 19, of Bree Road, appeared in the Warrnambool County Court when she appealed against the severity of a sentence received in the Hamilton Magistrates Court on December 11 last year.
At that appearance she pleaded guilty to recklessly causing injury and received a three-month jail sentence which was suspended for 24 months.
Judge Paul Grant this week allowed the appeal and Knight was instead convicted and fined $750.
Knight said she had learnt from her mistakes, had enrolled in a childcare course and was “trying to do good”.
Prosecutor David O’Doherty told the court that at 9.50pm on August 9 last year Knight was in Hamilton’s Brown Street with associates when she saw the victim and another woman walking along the opposite side of the road.
Knight abused the woman for looking at her boyfriend, approached her from behind and grabbed her hair, turned her around and punched her to the face several times.
The victim was then dragged to the ground and kicked to the ribs. She suffered a cut lip as well as bruising and soreness to her nose and ribs.
Judge Grant asked Knight why she had attacked the other woman. Knight said it was a “stupid, drunken move” and she was sorry.
She said that she had been hospitalised for alcohol poisoning six or seven months ago and had stopped drinking alcohol.
In allowing the appeal, Judge Grant said it was a nasty assault and Knight’s behaviour was inexcusable.
He said such unprovoked attacks were normally dealt with by courts severely.
However, he said Knight was a young offender with no prior convictions who seemed to have got her life back on track.