An Albury man who left his ex-partner in considerable fear after she woke to find him standing over her has been given 18 months' jail.
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But the term handed down in the District Court on Thursday afternoon to Aaron Lee Small, also known by the surname of "Morris", won't be served in custody.
Instead, Judge Michael King put Small on an intensive corrections order, mindful he said that the offence was low on the scale of criminal seriousness.
Judge King also decided that Small needed close supervision for drug- and domestic violence-related programs.
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The sentencing hearing heard that Small had a history of methamphetamine addiction and domestic violence-related offending, the latter mainly to do with breaches of apprehended violence orders.
The victim was asleep in her bedroom, along with her young children, when Small entered her Albury home on September 2, 2018.
Small claimed he only wanted to visit his children for Father's Day, but he was not permitted under the terms of the AVO the victim had in place to do just that.
Judge King pointed out the breach was not the first, nor was it the ony time the victim had been upset by Small's sudden arrival.
"The victim was ... distressed by a number of his inappropriate visits and the way in which they occurred," he said.
Small, 35, pleaded guilty in Albury Local Court on May 14 to charges of aggravated break and enter with intent of intimidation while knowing a person was present and destroy or damage property.
He was immediately committed for sentence before the District Court in Albury.
Judge King said Small and his partner, who had three children, were in a domestic relationship for about 10 years up until 2016.
Small entered the woman's home early that September day after opening an unlocked sliding door.
He entered the victim's bedroom, stood over the woman - as their children slept close by - and shook her.
"It's Father's Day, we need to talk," he told her.
Small grabbed the woman's packet of tobacco, which she took back.
The woman ordered him out of the house and so he left immediately.
When he was outside, Small kicked the side mirror on her car and damaged several panels.
"The victim was distressed," Judge King said.
"She held fears for herself and her children."
When later arrested at his Thurgoona Street public housing unit, Smith told police he was just "going to visit my kids".
"I kicked the car, yeah, I kicked it," he said.
Judge King noted there was "no actual violence" in the aggravated break and enter.
"And having been told to get out he left the premises."
But Judge King said it was also clear that Small routinely disobeyed whatever orders were put in place "from time-to-time".
It was because he thought he had the right to visit his children "when he likes".