An Eden woman says it was completely "out of character" for her to assault a police officer and resist arrest during an incident at the property where she was staying.
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Rebecca Ann Stewart-Pye, 25, appeared unrepresented in Eden Local Court on Wednesday, August 3 and pleaded guilty to one charge of assaulting an officer and another charge of resisting arrest.
Magistrate Doug Dick read aloud a sequence of events from the the police report to the court, in a bid to make sure there were "no misunderstandings," he said.
The court heard the incident occurred after police issued Ms Stewart-Pye an apprehended violence order (AVO) at the property where she was living in her caravan. The court was told she refused to take the documents handed over by police officers as they explained the nature of the AVO.
As part of the order, Ms Stewart-Pye was told she had to leave the premises where her caravan was parked.
When she didn't move on, police offers cautioned her that she could be arrested if she did not comply. The court heard police tried to handcuff the woman after she pushed an officer.
She reportedly lashed out at police and had to be forced on to the ground, before she was taken into a police vehicle.
Magistrate Dick told Ms Stewart-Pye that since her record was clean, "it sounds like this was not in your nature".
Ms Stewart-Pye said it was "completely out of character" for her, but that since she had been dealing with homelessness, everything had started "piling up" and she was having many "difficulties" in her life.
She said she was "full of remorse" for the incident and was visibly upset during the proceedings.
"I'd normally not do anything like that," she said.
Police prosecutor sergeant Liza Brown asked magistrate Doug Dick to take into consideration the police officer was in a vulnerable position at the time of the assault due to his line of work.
Magistrate Dick acknowledged the victim was a police officer and for that reason he would be looking at a long conditional release order.
He said the court was faced with someone who had acted in an "unusual way" and that the incident was "not an attack", so he would find the offence proven, but place Ms Stewart-Pye on a period of good behaviour for the next two years.
"I can say with certainty that you won't get another chance like this ever again," Magistrate Dick said.
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