Former sports broadcaster Tony Veitch has pleaded guilty to kicking his ex-girlfriend Kristin Dunne-Powell in the back.
The 35-year-old has been sentenced to 300 hours of community work, given a $10,000 fine and will be under supervision for nine months.
For the first time, Ms Dunne-Powell today spoke of the assault that broke her back and left her in a wheelchair.
"Tony made me feel to blame, helpless and isolated," she said. "I felt at the time my life was at risk."
As punishment, the Crown was pushing for a sentence of home detention. But Veitch's lawyer, Stuart Grieve, claimed Ms Dunne-Powell had provoked Veitch on the night of the attack.
"When he came back to the bedroom the complainant had been through the cellphone to look at text messages and the argument started from there and went on for some hours," Mr Grieve said. "At one point Mr Veitch left the house, went to the beach hoping she would leave. When he came back she was still there and the argument continued. He went to leave the room again, she was lying in his way and he cracked momentarily, lashed out and kicked her once in the back."
Mr Grieve said he appreciated the suffering Veitch had caused Ms Dunne-Powell, but argued his client had also been affected.
A letter Veitch's wife wrote to the judge reveals the depths of his depression.
"While the media have reported two occasions of attempts to take his life, I can recount at least seven times when Tony had lost all hope to live," the letter stated. "I am just so relieved we managed to keep him with us during those dark times."
The court also heard how Veitch paid Ms Dunne-Powell $167,000 following the attack in compensation and also to ensure she kept quiet about what had happened.
Speaking outside court, Veitch told the media he pleaded to expedite a resolution.
"We had two choices, our day in court - which I can honestly say i desperately wanted - but I knew would be at least two years away, or we could end this now," Veitch said.
Ms Dunne-Powell has also faced a form of trial herself. Tonight she told Campbell Live about the confusion she has felt since she was assaulted.
"Being in a situation of domestic violence is such a confusing place to be," she said. "It's a mess of emotions. It's guilt, blame, love and fear."
Rejecting claims that Ms Dunne-Powell provoked him, the judge sentenced Veitch to nine months supervision, 300 hours community work, ordered him to pay a $10,000 fine and attend a domestic violence course as part of his probation.
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