NSW farmer who choked and bashed girlfriend has jail time cut

A farm manager who told his girlfriend to "just die" as he choked and bashed her during a prolonged attack on an isolated property has had a year cut from his jail sentence.

The 32-year-old man, who cannot be named to protect the victim-survivor, pleaded guilty to assault and choking without consent over the three-and-a-half hour attack in central west NSW in June 2024.

He took the woman's mobile phone when she tried to call triple zero after he pushed her through a glass window, dragged her by the hair, choked her and smashed her head into bathroom tiles.

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The woman was able to take the man's phone and hide in a paddock to call police.

The man admitted the attack hours after his arrest and was later sentenced in Orange Local Court to a total four years' jail with a non-parole period of three years.

He successfully appealed against the severity of the sentence today, with NSW District Court Judge Penny Musgrave sentencing him to two years' jail for each charge.

However, the judge set an aggregate term of 32 months with a non-parole period of two years.

The judge said though the man's offending was serious, she accepted he had strong prospects of rehabilitation with a job and family support upon release.

But there was no sentencing option other than jail, Judge Musgrave said.

"Domestic violence is abhorred by this community and is deserving of very significant punishment," she said.

The man had an adjustment disorder and became violent when he shut down his own feelings but could not control the woman's "intense emotions", according to a psychologist's report before the court.

Judge Musgrave said she hoped the sentence would allow the man time to address his issues.

"I hope you do that and never come before this court again," she told him as he sat in the dock.

If the charges were initially dealt with in the District Court the man could have faced a maximum sentence of five years for each count, the judge said.

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Barrister James Leaver said the man and the victim-survivor had reached a confidential financial settlement, which indicated his remorse.

"There are matters which are favourable ... that may suggest some moderation in the sentence," Leaver said.

A crown solicitor argued the local court sentence was appropriate given the level of violence.

The victim-survivor watched the appeal, quietly crying throughout.

The woman told an earlier local court hearing about the terror of hiding while she waited for police.

"Whilst I feared for my life in the paddock ... listening in the dark to every stock movement, every sound, (I was) thinking he was somewhere about to attack me," the woman said in September.

She described how she desperately fought for her life, a struggle that continues.

"My battle to stay alive didn't end there ... it's an every day decision," she said.

The man will be eligible for parole in June 2026.

Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).

Readers seeking support can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or beyond blue on 1300 22 4636.

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