Former reality star Samuel Messina has been punished for three counts of assault he committed against his ex-girlfriend in 2019.
The 27-year-old, who participated in the 2020 season of Farmer Wants a Wife, was sentenced to an 18-month community correction order and fined $350.
It was broadcast by Magistrate Michael Ong on Monday at the Port Kembla Local Court after Messina was found guilty in November 2022 in the same jurisdiction.
Former reality star Samuel Messina, 27, (pictured) received his punishment for three counts of assault he committed against his ex-girlfriend in 2019
After the court heard that the relationship between Messina and his ex-girlfriend was “controlling and abusive”, Messina’s lawyer, Mathew Lowry, defended him.
“He’s very sorry and embarrassed about this whole situation,” Lowry said after praising Messina’s hard work as an interstate trucker.
Ong seemed dubious and expressed concern about Messina’s recidivism due to the “very little acceptance” he showed for his actions.
The 27-year-old, who participated in the 2020 season of Farmer Wants A Wife, was sentenced to an 18-month community correction order and fined $350.
“Domestic violence is rife in the community,” said Mr. Ong.
‘Many people remain in domestic relationships when there is violence and abusive behaviour.
“They remain silent because they worry about what would happen if they left the relative safety of having a roof over their heads.”
Ong then sentenced Messina to 150 hours of community service, ordered her to pay a $350 trespassing fine, and said she must report to the Orange Community Corrections office within seven days.
Messina has appealed the sentence and will be back in Wollongong District Court in February.
It was broadcast by Magistrate Michael Ong on Monday at the Port Kembla Local Court after Messina was found guilty in November 2022 in the same jurisdiction.
Messina was found guilty of three counts of assault causing actual bodily harm to his ex-girlfriend in November of last year.
The attacks occurred a year before Messina appeared on Channel Seven’s popular dating show Farmer Wants A Wife, which depicts lonely rural farmers paired with girls from the city.
The court previously heard that Messina hit her ex so hard that she bled for weeks.
Her former partner told the court that he physically abused her on four occasions in 2019 while they lived together in Orange, NSW.
After the court heard that the relationship between Messina and his ex-girlfriend was “controlling and abusive”, Messina’s lawyer, Mathew Lowry, defended him.
The court heard the first assault, which occurred in March 2019, involved him opening a door in his foot, causing pain in two of his toes.
In July of that year, Messina grabbed her by her clothes and threw her to the ground.
The court also heard that on the morning of July 31, Messina pushed her before punching her in the nose, which caused her to bleed.
The victim said the injury caused her pain and bleeding every time she sneezed for the next month.
Messina was charged with a fourth assault, in which he ‘whipped’ her with a phone charging cable.
But Ong Magistrate said that this allegation could not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, as the victim’s work list indicated that she was at work at the time of the alleged incident.
The couple separated shortly after the alleged incident, and she moved to Illawarra.
“He’s very sorry and embarrassed about this whole situation,” Lowry said. Mr. Ong seemed dubious and expressed concern that Messina would reoffend due to the “very little acceptance” he showed of his actions.
Messina was charged for the first time with a total of seven crimes of domestic violence against his ex in July 2021. He had gone to the police in March of that year.
He initially pleaded not guilty to all charges, which included intimidation, trespassing, and four counts of assault.
He later pleaded not guilty to four counts of assault and guilty to two counts of intimidation after he showed up at his ex’s mother’s house and threatened to kill her rabbits.
During two days of evidence, the court heard that the woman had found the courage to report the assaults after Messina allegedly threatened her rabbits in February last year.
Messina was found guilty of three counts of assault causing actual bodily harm to his ex-girlfriend. The attacks occurred a year before Messina appeared on Channel Seven’s popular dating show Farmer Wants A Wife, which depicts lonely rural farmers paired with girls from the city.
Police prosecutor Sergeant Ben Bragger told the court that the woman’s delay in reporting the allegations should not “affect her credibility”.
‘In 2022, delay is not a reason to attack credibility,’ he said, according to The Sunday Telegraph.
“Women who are victims of domestic violence have a lot of good reasons for not reporting things right away, they are embarrassed, embarrassed, and they don’t want their personal lives scrutinized.
‘She had the courage to report [the allegations] after her security was breached…enough was enough and she felt she had to go to the police.’
Messina was a frontrunner on Farmer Wants A Wife but received criticism for turning down two love-struck contestants Mackenzie Phillips (left) and Allanah Taranto (right)
Messina rose to fame after appearing on Channel Seven’s popular TV show Farmer Wants A Wife as one of the farmers looking for love.
He wowed viewers when he turned down two women, Mackenzie Phillips and Allanah Taranto, who were vying for his affections.
In July 2021, claims that he was not a real farmer and that he was using his brother’s farm on the show came to light.
Instead, Messina was claimed to be a trucker from Sydney.
He later said in an Instagram post that the farm used in the show was a family farm and that he “never once claimed that it’s explicitly mine.”
‘I’m like everyone else, sometimes it takes two incomes to pay the bills. I drive trucks as a second income and that has never been a secret,” she added.
In July 2021, claims that he was not a real farmer and that he was using his brother’s farm on the show came to light. Instead, Messina was claimed to be a trucker from Sydney.