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A MOTHER who punched a man in the chest after he preemptively called police for help has escaped the court without a conviction.
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Catheryn Galapon, 42, of Mendel Drive, Kelso, pleaded guilty in Bathurst Local Court on May 24, 2023 to common assault.
According to police documents before the court, Galapon and the victim in the matter got into an argument on the morning of May 14, 2023 shortly after she returned from a nearby park.
After the pair exchanged a number of insults, Galapon went into the lounge room to play a computer game when she overheard the victim on the phone with police.
Galapon began to film the victim on her phone as she asked why he had called triple-0, according to the police documents.
The police documents said that it was at this point that Galapon punched the victim in the chest and pulled his hair.
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Shortly after Galapon left the home, police arrived and said they saw the victim had a ripped shirt.
"[She] and I had an argument. She was the one hitting me, I was trying to stop her," the victim said to police.
Galapon was spotted by police in a nearby park, where she was arrested and taken to Bathurst Police Station.
While in custody, she admitted to the assault, according to the police documents.
Sentence
Solicitor Evan Dowd told the court during submissions that his client - who is a mother of two and has "zero crime" on her record - had merely tried to wake the victim up on Mother's Day before there were discussions about family matters, which sparked the dispute.
"Police were called after they had an argument and before the assault happened," Mr Dowd said.
"There was a tussle over a phone when she punched him and pulled his hair."
Galapon wiped away tears as she was being sentenced by Magistrate C Farnan, who said it was clear the victim had been assaulted.
"The nature of the assault isn't of the highest end of the range, so it's appropriate to deal with the matter without a conviction," Ms Farnan said.
Galapon was placed on a conditional release order - without conviction - for 12 months.
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