A dispute between neighbours in Wodonga escalated to the point where a man was assaulted, threats made, and a child left hysterical by what occurred.
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Dale Hodgkin appeared in the Wodonga Magistrates Court this week following the violent altercation on May 26, 2019.
He had returned to his Marshall Street home that afternoon, and the victim was outside his own house with his partner and child present.
Hodgkin yelled at the nearby residents, who told him to calm down as a child was present.
He became angrier and started to jump up and down like a boxer before punching the man in the nose, kneeing him in the stomach, and kicking his legs out from underneath him.
They continued to fight on the ground.
Hodgkin then used his fingers to make a gun gesture, and told the man and woman "you're both f---ed".
The court heard the 11-year-old child was "hysterical" after the altercation.
The victims were left scared to live near Hodgkin.
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Lawyer Sally Wilson said her client had been under a lot of work stress at the time and there hadn't been any further incidents.
Hodgkin now works for the Wodonga Council and is seeing a psychologist, and had concerns about a conviction being recorded.
"He snapped," Ms Wilson said.
"To his credit he's undergone extensive treatment, at his expense, since then."
Magistrate Mary-Anne MacCallum said while it was an aggravating feature that a child had been at the scene and was left distressed, Hodgkin had been of prior good character.
She placed him on an 18-month good behaviour bond and ordered he pay $350 to the court fund.
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