Jeremy Riley, 41, had been in a relationship with the victim for two years and they had a four-month-old baby together when the incident occurred on June 18.

Police prosecutor Acting Sergeant Simon Pearce said at 6.30am the victim confronted Riley about him texting other females and he punched her to the back of the head and picked up a cord and whipped her to the back of the head.

He said Riley placed his left hand around the victim's neck and pushed her backwards onto a couch. Riley held is hand around his partner's neck for a short time, restricting her breathing.

The court was told Riley grabbed the victim on her arms and squeezed them, causing redness, before he punched her to the jaw making her dizzy and causing a bump.

The victim and her daughter caught a taxi to the police station to report the incident and Riley was arrested the following day at his house.

Acting Sergeant Pearce said while Riley was in custody from June 20, he wrote five letters to the victim with one of those letters asking her to change her statement so he could "get out earlier".

He said Riley telephoned the victim from prison 71 times between August 11 and 27, disguising himself by using another name.

The court was told Riley's offending breached a community corrections order and he had been convicted last year for assaulting the same partner.

On September 22 last year, Riley was caught driving while disqualified at a speed of 114km/h in a 100km/h zone at Waubra. One month later, he was caught behind the wheel again without a licence.

Riley pleaded guilty at the Ballarat Magistrates' Court on Wednesday to eight charges, including recklessly causing injury, harassing a witness, driving while disqualified and speeding.

Defence lawyer Nikhil Sood said his client had experienced a traumatic childhood after his father left the family home when Riley was five and his mother died in a car accident when he was seven. He said Riley moved to Ballarat to live with his grandmother and aunty, who have both died while he was in custody.

"He is not a bad man. He is a man who has problems dealing with relationships," Mr Sood said. "He has the ability to change."

But magistrate Jonathan Klestadt said Riley had been sentenced to seven community corrections orders and he had not complied with one. He said Riley had 12 prior convictions for driving while disqualified and 10 prior convictions for driving while unlicensed.

"This offending is significant because it demonstrates an inability to simply obey the law. You know you are not allowed to drive. You have not been permitted to drive for many, many years but you keep ignoring the law because it's convenient to you," Mr Klestadt said.

"What is more serious is offending against your partner. You have been before the courts for offending against her and offending against another partner all of which have resulted in time in custody plus corrections orders and you have failed to profit from those."

Riley was sentenced to 14 months' imprisonment with a non-parole period of six months and fined $250.