newy.com.au – A 32-year-old man accused of choking and seriously assaulting a woman at a Hamilton South unit has been refused bail after Hunter police arrested him during a statewide domestic violence operation.
Police attended a Newcastle hospital on Saturday, August 8, after reports a woman had been assaulted by a man known to her. Officers were told she had been threatened and seriously assaulted at the unit, suffering lacerations and fractures.
Following inquiries by the Hunter Domestic Violence High-Risk Offender Team, officers arrested the man in the car park of a Charlestown shopping centre on Friday, August 14.
He was charged with two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, intentionally choking a person without consent, reckless grievous bodily harm and breaching bail. The man was refused bail and is due to appear in Newcastle Local Court on Tuesday, August 25. The allegations have not been tested in court.
The arrest was among 134 made across the NSW Police Northern Region during Operation Amarok 14, which targeted alleged domestic and family violence offenders considered an increased threat to victims.
Northern Region police laid 316 charges and executed 83 arrest warrants. They also conducted 1051 apprehended domestic violence order compliance checks, identifying 72 alleged breaches, and 140 bail checks that uncovered 50 alleged breaches. Officers seized 33 firearms during eight firearms prohibition order searches.
Across NSW, 732 people were charged with 1589 offences during the operation from Friday to Sunday. Police executed 228 arrest warrants and carried out more than 12,000 ADVO compliance checks, identifying 321 alleged breaches.
A further 225 alleged bail breaches were found during 1497 checks. Police seized 118 firearms and 16 other weapons in 93 firearms prohibition order searches.
Operation Amarok expanded into the ACT for the first time, with ACT Policing running a related five-day crackdown known as Operation Shepherd. NSW Police provided operational strategies and resources, while officers worked with the Australian Federal Police to extradite people wanted on outstanding warrants.
Among the cross-border arrests was a 38-year-old man detained by ACT Policing on five NSW warrants covering alleged domestic violence, drug, property and traffic offences. He was extradited to Queanbeyan and later granted conditional bail.
A 33-year-old man was also arrested at Goulburn on an outstanding ACT warrant for alleged domestic violence offences and appeared in court for extradition proceedings.
NSW Police said more than 9067 people had been charged during 14 Operation Amarok campaigns since 2023.
Deputy Commissioner Paul Pisanos said police received a domestic and family violence-related call every three minutes.
“Behind every call for help is a person experiencing fear and a family whose safety has been impacted,” he said.
“If you hear or see something, report it to police. You can even do that confidentially through Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.”
Anyone in immediate danger should call Triple Zero. Support is available through 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732.
