By Cam Lucadou-Wells
A Doveton man accused of seriously injuring a woman with “blunt trauma” to the head has been refused bail.
William Hogan is contesting charges including common law assault, three unlawful assaults, two counts of recklessly causing injury, intentional property damage and committing an indictable offence on bail.
In arguing against bail, police alleged at Dandenong Magistrates’ Court that his victim sustained blunt trauma to the head.
This caused a brain bleed and impaired brain functioning. She also suffered multiple soft tissue injuries, a police prosecutor told the court on 3 February.
Hogan had been on bail at the time of the alleged attack, and was an unacceptable risk of re-offending across “all the categories”, police alleged.
Defence lawyer Jacqui Hession said “there’s no question the allegations are serious”.
But Hogan was entitled to the presumption of innocence and the right to liberty, she argued.
If released on bail, Hogan was eligible for CISP supervision, including drug counselling.
Ms Hession noted that Hogan himself was protected from the complainant under an interim intervention order. There was also an intervention order to protect the alleged victim from him.
Hogan, who had been in remand for 82 days, faced a total delay of nearly eight months before his contest hearing in late June.
Magistrate Steven Raleigh noted that given the victim’s alleged injuries, Hogan faced potentially more than seven months jail if guilty.
He said he wouldn’t be surprised if the case was uplifted to the County Court.
In refusing bail, Mr Raleigh said he was not satisfied that Hogan was an unacceptable risk of re-offending, failing to appear on bail and of interfering with witnesses.
“I’m afraid for the safety of the complainant in this matter.”
“What has changed that would make me think he’d comply with bail conditions if I would impose them?” Mr Raleigh said at one point of the hearing.
Hogan was remanded to appear at a contest mention at Dandenong Magistrates’ Court on 1 March.
