Victim feels unsafe living in Daylesford after being attacked in aggravated burglary

The court heard the victim felt hypervigilant and unsafe near his home and was experiencing heightened anxiety since the offending.

Judge Kevin Doyle said the offender Brett Rovere should feel ashamed of the way he behaved and the impacts his offending had.

"This was serious criminal behaviour," he said.

"You knew he was inside. Once you entered you immediately threw a number of punches. The assault was a nasty incident."

Rovere, 47, pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary and recklessly causing injury at the County Court in Melbourne last fortnight after initially attempting to blame the victim.

The court heard Rovere ran his business from sheds he rented in Daylesford and he became annoyed when the landlord leased a section of the shed he was using to the victim.

He banged on the front door of the victim's house about 11.45pm on April 29, 2020 after drinking alcohol at home.

The victim was getting ready for bed and opened the door to see who was outside.

Rovere forced open the door, went inside, pushed the victim back and punched him multiple times to the face.

The victim fell over a couch in the living room and Rovere punched him and grabbed hold of him.

A victim impact statement provided to the court revealed the victim had trouble trusting other people, felt uneasy at night when he heard noises and struggled sleeping since the incident.

"His work puts him in close proximity to you and it makes him feel uncomfortable," Judge Doyle said at court last week during his sentencing remarks.

"He feels you have not acknowledged what you did and this makes him feel more isolated."

Rovere wrote a letter of apology to the victim and paid for his glasses which were broken in the attack at Judge Doyle's request last week.

Judge Doyle said general deterrence, denunciation and just punishment were important sentencing considerations.

He said his initial reaction to the offending was a period of imprisonment was warranted, but this had to be balanced with Rovere's good character and lack of prior convictions.

"You have never committed any criminal offence and you are a positive contributor to the community," Judge Doyle said.

"You must be given significant credit for these matters. I think it is highly unlikely this will happen again in the future."

Rovere was sentenced to a two-year community corrections order with a requirement to complete 200 hours of unpaid community work.

He was fined $5000.

Judge Doyle said he would have imposed a sentence of two years' imprisonment if Rovere had pleaded not guilty to the offending.

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