A woman was spared jail after slamming a bar stool over the head of a stranger who threatened to rape her.
Loretta Chumbley, 27, from the Top End, pleaded guilty in Darwin Local Court on Thursday to aggravated assault following the altercation in the bar earlier this year.
The fly-in-fly-out diesel fitter was at the Berry Springs Tavern on a Saturday evening in March when she was approached by a drunk and lecherous stranger, reported NT news.
The court heard the man tried to argue with Chumbley’s friend before trying to put his arm around her.
She went to the bar to get some more drinks to get away, but when she returned, the man allegedly told her, “I’ll bash your friend and take you home and rape you.”
Loretta Chumbley, 27, from the Top End, pleaded guilty in Darwin Local Court on Thursday to aggravated assault following the altercation at the Berry Springs Tavern (pictured) earlier this year
She was given a prison sentence of four months, of which 24 months were suspended
It was at that moment that Chumbley “snapped,” according to her lawyer Brooke Houen, who told the court her client picked up a bar stool and smashed it into the man’s skull.
He was left with a permanent scar and a concussion.
Chumbley had to be dragged away by her friends.
The man urged the judge not to lock up his attacker, claiming it would not help her rehabilitation.
The court heard Chumbley had previously been in an argument where she swiped some meals off a bench in another pub, causing hot chips and gravy to spill onto a member of staff.
This put her at risk of a mandatory minimum prison sentence of three months.
But Judge Ben O’Loughlin reportedly told her he was “looking for ways not to lock her up.”
“I’m not sure what you’re drinking – Bundy or something – but you should really remember to avoid (these locations),” the judge told her.
Chumbley was given a prison sentence of four months, of which 24 months were suspended.
Her lawyer said she was taking anger management classes.
Ny Breaking Australia approached Chumbley for comment.
Chumbley was crowned ‘Most Outstanding Student of the Year’ at the 2022 GTNT Group Awards.
She built a successful cricket career during high school and represented Victoria at the Imparja Cricket Cup in Alice Springs three times.