Robert Knight pleads guilty to assaulting woman at Bathurst hospital

Robert Knight, 33, of View Street, Kelso, pleaded guilty in Bathurst Local Court on May 3, 2023, to two counts of common assault, contravening an Apprehended Violence Order (AVO) and resisting police.

Knight and the victim were at the Drug Rehabilitation Methadone Clinic at Bathurst Base Hospital just after 8am on April 15, 2023, waiting for their treatments, court documents state.

While in the waiting room, Knight began to shout at the victim, who was standing in the corner of the room with her hands in her jacket.

The court heard Knight approached the woman from behind and grabbed hold of her before he turned her to face him as he continued to yell.

Knight then began to hit her on either side of the head, which caused the woman - who is a protected person in an AVO against Knight - to stumble backwards and fall into the lap of another patient, where he kept assaulting her.

The victim stood and tried to walk away but Knight grabbed hold of her jumper and struck her in the head.

She crouched over to protect herself as Knight picked up his thongs and beanie, which came off during the fight, and left the room.

The victim made two separate calls to triple-zero asking for help from police, but she hung up and failed to answer several calls back from the emergency service.

Shortly after, Knight and the victim were being driven back to Bathurst Base Hospital by a man. During the car ride there, Knight punched the victim several times.

Police said they went to the hospital about 8.30am and spoke with two witnesses who saw the fight in the waiting room and identified the pair.

Officers then got CCTV footage before they did patrols of the area, hoping to find Knight and the victim but were unsuccessful.

Police went to a home on View Street in Kelso about 10.40am on April 19 to arrest Knight but were told he wasn't there.

The court heard officers, once allowed inside, searched the ground level before going upstairs where they saw Knight jump from a bedroom window onto a veranda in the near yard where another set of police were waiting.

Knight picked up a brick and went to throw it at police, so officers used capsicum spray.

He was taken to the ground and handcuffed, despite his resistance, before he was taken to Bathurst Police Station where he was charged.

Aboriginal Legal Service solicitor, Ms Chui submitted Knight's pleas of 'guilty' to all charges earlier this month, before Magistrate Elizabeth Ellis adjourned the matter for a full Sentence Assessment Report to give an insight into his offending.

Knight will be sentenced in Bathurst Local Court on June 16, 2023.

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