Rabid Towradgi man's terrifying mission to get his hands around ex-girlfriend's neck

Jay Jeffrey Pike, 26, threatened to kill the woman as he tightened his grip while ignoring her calls for him to stop.

"Close to 30 women have been killed this year alone due to domestic violence. It's a blight on our society," prosecutor Jacqueline Azad said during Pike's sentence hearing on June 12.

"We are lucky this didn't end in another way."

Pike appeared before Wollongong Local Court to learn his fate after he pleaded guilty to 17 offences, including intentionally choking a person without consent and possessing a prohibited weapon.

Tendered court documents state Pike's offending began two days before Christmas in 2022, soon after his relationship with the woman ended.

He turned up at her home around midday and threw a number of garden gnomes at her door, before he punched and smashed the front glass window, yelling: "You've pushed me too far this time."

Pike entered the property by climbing through the hole, while the victim ran to the backyard for safety.

He followed her into the yard and the woman pleaded with him to stop, however he raised his fist and replied, "I'll cause a scene, I'll break your jaw in front of everybody," adding that he would "cave your head in".

Police arrived shortly after and interviewed the woman, but were unable to find Pike. She sealed her window with plastic bags and tape, with her mother staying overnight.

Pike returned in the early hours of Christmas Eve, wearing a balaclava and yelling, "I'm going to kill you ... you charged me you dog."

The woman pleaded with him to leave, but he climbed back through the hole he made, cutting himself on the broken glass which caused him to bleed profusely through the home.

He called the woman slurs and threatened her mother.

Pike ran out of the property and smashed a neighbour's CCTV camera with a metal pole, while the woman called police, fearing Pike was going to kill her.

Police arrived and arrested him in the kitchen. He was released on bail on Christmas Day.

However, he defied his strict conditions and continued his reign of terror two weeks later, arriving at the victim's home at around 10pm banging on the windows.

In a fit of jealous rage, Pike called the woman slurs and accused her of messaging other men before he snatched her phone.

He then punched her in the face, causing her to fall backwards, then climbed over her and squeezed her neck with both hands while repeatedly yelling threats to kill her.

A child watched on as he continued choking the woman. He then took the woman's phone and drove away in her car.

Officer's arrested him on Appin Road and found a set of sharp knuckledusters in Pike's underwear.

Defence lawyer Hannah Dreher said Pike had spent 417 days combined in custody and at a rehabilitation facility, which he eventually left.

Ms Dreher outlined Pike's difficult childhood, saying he developed an ice and heroin addiction from age 18, but that he now isn't using.

Ms Azad argued the threshold to jail had been crossed and stressed the seriousness of the "persistent" offending, with the matter an "clear example" of how coercive control and violence can spiral.

"Of utmost importance in this case is that there will be adequate protection for the victim," she said.

Magistrate Claire Girotto urged Pike to continue with rehabilitation and sentenced him to 28 months jail, backdated to April 2023.

A non-parole period of 13 months was imposed, meaning he will remain in the community under supervision. He must also perform 100 hours of unpaid community service work.