Jun 20 - Man Given Community Service For ABH
A 37-year-old man was handed a 200 hours community service order after pleading guilty to causing actual bodily harm following a lovers’ tiff.
Manuel Ballester, of Varyl Begg Estate, appeared before the Supreme Court today for sentencing. He faced one count of causing actual bodily harm and one count of possession of more than 60g of cannabis resin in a case that dates back to March 2015.
Prosecutor Carl Ramagge said Ballester had exchanged a series of WhatsApp text messages with his former partner and fell asleep in his home.
The complainant went into his house later that evening, and got into an argument with him, grabbed a crowbar and tried to hit the defendant. While struggling to get the crowbar off her, both the complainant and defendant sustained injuries and some bruising.
Shortly before 2am, the complainant rang the police, accusing the defendant of raping and hitting her. He was arrested and taken to New Mole House Police Station, and the complainant admitted to lying to the police when taken to the hospital for a check up.
Ballester’s defence barrister Patrick Canessa said his client had used excessive force in self-defence.
Puisne Judge Karen Ramagge Prescott said: “This was a clear case of self-defence where the use of force went too far.”
She said there was no pre-meditation, and that the defendant was not the aggressor, and said the complainant’s false allegation of rape was “deplorable and a waste of police and medical time”.
She sentenced him to 200 hours of community service for the actual bodily harm charge, with no separate penalty for the possession of cannabis resin.
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