An 83-year-old man who was trying to assist a woman who had fallen on hard times ended up being assaulted by her, and having his property set on fire.
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Tara-Lee Gillatt assaulted the man at his home in April last year, striking him to the head and causing him to fall to the ground.
Two days later the victim went to hospital, where he was found to have suffered a fracture to his back.
Gillatt and the man had been arguing at the time, with the victim tiring of helping her and requesting that she not be at his home over Easter.
After striking the victim, she caused $300 worth of damage to his belongings inside the unit, knocking over a fish tank, a terranium and a CD holder.
When interviewed about the offences on May 13, Gillatt made admissions.
"He makes me angry sometimes, he does it to get me in trouble," she told police.
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A personal safety order to protect the victim was put in place on May 16. But 41-year-old Gillatt continued to turn up at the Lawrence Street home of the victim, who told her repeatedly that she was not meant to be there.
On one occasion, the victim was home at 11.30pm when Gillatt again went to his property.
She used Zippo fluid and some tissues to set fire to a wicker chair on the man's verandah. The victim was alerted to the fire when he smelt smoke.
The fire completely destroyed the chair and an external blind at the property, with police submitting to Wodonga court that the incident "concerns the prosecution significantly".
She again turned up at his home in breach of the safety order in September and December.
Wodonga Court was told Gillatt had been homeless at the time of her offending and suffered significant mental health issues.
She was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 2000 and requires ongoing treatment.
Magistrate Peter Mithen told Gillatt her offending was "serious".
"The victim is 83 years of age, and you've persistently breached that order," he told Gillatt.
"You've got to make sure you don't breach the order again, do you understand? That fire lighting exercise ... it could have been very bad. You've got to make sure you think your way through things."
Gillatt was convicted and placed on a community corrections order for 12 months, and warned that she would have to comply with treatment and supervision.
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