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A former AFL star has been refused bail and faces 88 domestic violence charges against his police officer girlfriend.

Andrew Lovett, who was a player for Essendon between 2005-2009, is accused of punching, spitting and threatening his partner over the course of 22 months.

Court documents show the offences include assault, recklessly causing injury and stalking.

His case is next listed in January 2022.

Domestic Violence Charges Laid

Police laid domestic violence charges against Andrew Lovett after his 36-year-old partner alleged that she had been subject to a campaign of offences since February 2020.

The court heard that Lovett allegedly assaulted her on the day of this arrest, which led to her calling police.

She also detailed other incidents, claiming he had threatened her with bikie links. It was also suggested that he told her he impregnated a previous partner to upset the 36-year-old.

One of the first alleged incidents occurred in February 2020. The prosecution accused Lovett of leaving the complainant with multiple bruises on her arms after the couple argued about going to bed.

“He told her it was her fault as she’d made him angry,” the prosecutor said.

It was also alleged that the ex-AFL star accused his girlfriend of cheating on him in March 2021 before punching her in the head.

On another occasion, Lovett allegedly arrived home intoxicated after a AFL function and spat on the alleged victim, before pouring beer over her.

Bail Application Refused

The 39-year-old represented himself in court where the Magistrate refused his bail application, meaning he will spend Christmas behind bars. He may only make a further release application if certain conditions are met. One of these may be if a bail surety is offered.

The court heard that Andrew Lovett was previously granted bail on conditions including that he not contact the alleged victim, however he had reached out to her through his brother’s Instagram account.

He labelled the breach a slip-up and said, “I pose no risk to her or anyone”.

Mr Lovett accused his partner of being a ‘drunk’. He also claimed she was usually the aggressor throughout the relationship.

He also said he had ceased consuming alcohol, smoking and gambling. He also told the Court that he was “happy to comply” with the existing bail conditions.

However, the magistrate refused bail, stating that Lovett posed an “unacceptable risk of reoffending” if released. Bail application lawyers commonly refer to this as the ‘unacceptable risk test’.

The case returns to court on 11 January 2022.

Domestic Violence Lawyers

In today’s context, domestic violence charges are very common. There have been a number of recent examples of AVOs being withdrawn and/or dismissed after retaining experienced criminal lawyers. You can view some of those cases by clicking here.

We have offices throughout the Sydney metropolitan area where you can speak to Sydney, Parramatta and Liverpool Criminal Lawyers. We can arrange a conference for you with a Law Society Accredited Specialist. Call Astor Legal on (02) 7804 2823. Or, you can email info@astorlegal.com.au.

There are some mandatory conditions that come with an AVO, and then there are other optional conditions. These conditions restrict the behaviour of the person on whom the AVO is imposed.

As an AVO is not a criminal conviction, it will not appear on any Police check. However, an AVO may place restrictions on what you can and cannot do. Some common examples of conditions are:

• You cannot approach or contact a particular person or persons;
• You cannot enter a particular premises;
• You cannot go within a certain distance of a particular location;
• You cannot be in the company of a particular person within 12 hours of consuming alcohol.

Because of this, people often ask how to get domestic violence charges dropped.

In order to know how to beat an AVO, a defendant must consult Section 16 of the Act sets out the factors that must be proved on the balance of probabilities:

1. The alleged victim has reasonable grounds to fear a personal violence offence from you; and

2. The alleged victim, fears a personal violence offence from you unless:

a) The alleged victim is under 16 years of age

b) The alleged victim has a mental impairment

c) the alleged victim has, in the past, been subject to a personal violence offence from you and the court believes there is a reasonable likelihood of it occurring again.

3. It is appropriate to make an AVO in the terms sought.

If any of these matters cannot be proved, then the AVO will not be made.