Josh Milgate put both hands around her neck, seriously stifling the woman’s breathing as her feet dangled in the air, Albury Local Court has heard.

Police said the woman had had to repeatedly tell Milgate he was not welcome back, but he refused to listen.

Milgate, 21, pleaded guilty back on May 28 to a single charge of common assault, which was amended to include the words “domestic violence-related”.

“This sort of domestic violence assault needs to be strongly deterred and denounced,” magistrate Rodney Brender told Milgate in placing him on an 18-month good behaviour bond with supervision, describing it as a “scourge” on society.

Given he was already on about four other bonds, any failure by Milgate to do what he was told was likely to end in jail.

Milgate was found to be unsuitable for a community service order, given he now lived at Culcairn.

The court was told Milgate and his partner had been together for more than three years and they had a son aged two.

Earlier in the week of the assault, which happened  at their Thurgoona home on March 25, police said the victim found the crack pipe in her son’s hand.

She told Milgate to get out as she was not going to have her child “put at that type of risk”.

Milgate repeatedly phoned her on the evening of March 24, telling her she had made a mistake and that he would come around to talk to her about what had happened.

The assault happened the next day at 12.30pm, in the wake of continued harassing calls, when the victim came outside armed with a short length of metal curtain rod after Milgate banged on a window.

“The accused has taken the rod off the victim and grabbed her by the throat with both hands and lifted her off the ground,” police said.

“The victim felt immedate pain and found it hard to breath.”

Milgate was also convicted and fined $440.