By Esther Linder in Sydney

Troubled former TV host Andrew O’Keefe has avoided jail despite being found guilty of “violent and degrading” domestic attacks.

The broadcaster was hit with three sets of charges over multiple incidents in 2021, including assault causing actual bodily harm, breaching a domestic violence order and possession of the synthetic stimulant drug mephedrone.

Magistrate Alison Viney on Wednesday found O’Keefe’s actions in kicking, spitting, scratching and otherwise assaulting a woman, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, deserved condemnation.

“Your actions were violent and degrading,” she told Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court while describing O’Keefe’s September 2021 assault on the woman during an argument.

“You placed (the victim) in a position of fear, not only for herself but for her children in her own home.”

O’Keefe was ordered to serve 18 months on a community corrections order, which involves supervision and reporting requirements.

He was fined $800 for drug offences.

Ms Viney said O’Keefe’s indifference to the domestic violence order in repeatedly contacting the victim was a concern for the court.

His behaviour showed “absolute disregard for what is supposed to be an effective tool for the protection of victims of domestic violence in our community”, she said.

The magistrate described his behaviour over multiple incidents in September 2021 as “frightening and degrading” for the victim.

The court heard O’Keefe called the woman a “lying dog” and a “c***” and assaulted her several times, including striking her with an open hand.

A neighbour’s evidence formed a crucial part in corroborating the victim’s statements during the hearing.

They heard the pair fighting on an evening in September 2021 and later saw the victim distressed with scratches to her upper body.

Numerous photographs of the victim’s injuries, including bruising and scratches to her arms and chest, were tendered during hearings in November.

O’Keefe, dressed in a teal-green suit, became agitated and muttered throughout parts of the judgment, shaking his head at times as the magistrate read out her findings.

He denied the woman’s accusations, previously telling the court: “None of this happened”.

O’Keefe earlier pleaded guilty to contravening the domestic violence order and possessing cannabis but denied further charges of assault and drug possession.