Hefty fine for Cranbrook man who punched and throttled his partner inside a home

A 49-year-old Cranbrook man has received a hefty fine after an assault on his former partner that was so forceful it knocked her dentures out. Appearing in Albany Magistrates Court last month, Royston Thomas Hickinbotham was found guilty of assaulting his then partner and impeding her normal breathing or blood circulation by applying pressure to the neck. On December 16 last year, Hickinbotham landed a blow to his victim’s face that “knocked out” her top dentures. He then pushed his partner of seven years on to a bed and throttled her until she was left “gasping for air”. In a reserved decision and sentencing hearing on August 30, Albany Magistrate Dianne Scaddan said the court prosecution had proved the case against Hickinbotham. In a two-day trial, the court heard evidence from the female victim, her dentist, nurse and two police officers. Ms Scaddan said the assault was triggered by a “heated” argument when the victim accused Hickinbotham of being disrespectful to her after he placed items on top of jewellery she planned to sell. Hickinbotham became abusive towards the woman, confronted her in the hallway of the Cranbrook home and told her to get out. After leaving the property and coming back to the victim packing her belongings, he became angry. The woman tried to get past him, but he pushed her and closed the door to the bedroom, holding it shut, the court was told. “The victim was screaming and banging on the door,” Ms Scaddan said. The woman was eventually able to open the door and tried to get to her phone to call triple-0. It was then Hickinbotham struck her in the face and knocked the dentures out of her mouth. He forced her on to a bed and put his hand around her throat before dragging her out of the house, Ms Scaddan said. The victim was taken to hospital in Mt Barker with neck pain and bruising to her face, arms and back. Ms Scaddan fined the man a total of $6500 for both offences. “Any type of manual pressure to the neck is inherently dangerous ... it’s vulnerable, scary and has a significant impact on the victim,” Ms Scaddan said.