Joondalup magistrate describes man’s punching ex-partner and preventing her from seeking help as ‘disgusting’

A Perth magistrate has described the actions of a man who attacked his ex-partner and prevented her from seeking help as “disgusting”. Magistrate Raelene Johnston was sentencing Davern Jon Holloway in Joondalup Magistrates Court last month after he pleaded guilty to assault. Holloway, 32, had been in jail for five months after he was arrested on his return to Perth after skipping bail and fleeing interstate nearly two years ago. The court heard he failed to appear in court on June 16, 2022, and flew to Sydney because he had a fear of going to jail. The police prosecutor said during the assault in Merriwa Holloway accused his ex-de facto of cheating and called her a b**** before punching her to the nose and mouth, pushing her into a door frame with his fist and preventing her from leaving when she ran for the front door. The victim then called for help from a bedroom window and neighbours intervened by knocking on the front door. Ms Johnston said apart from potentially injuring her, the punch and pushing of the victim was “also humiliating” for her. She said Holloway preventing the victim from leaving to alert neighbours, and saying to her “please don’t ruin my life” was cowardly and disgusting as she was rightly seeking help. Ms Johnston said the attack and Holloway’s breach of bail conditions when he confronted his ex at a service station and punched her car window on May 1, 2022 “warrant terms of imprisonment”. But in sentencing Holloway to a nine-month community-based order, she took into account time already spent in jail and the fact he had no other convictions since 2020.