Paramedic who was slashed with a box cutter says she’s ‘relieved’ her attacker has been jailed

Image: Nine News

A paramedic who was attacked with a box cutter as she left a Rosebud fish and chip shop last year says she’s “relieved” her attacker received jail time for the attack.

Adam Bardic, 48, attacked paramedic Julie Mullenger after she stopped at a takeaway food outlet in July last year, while her two young daughters, aged four and six at the time, watched on.

Yesterday, he was sentenced to five years and nine months in jail, with a non-parole period of three years and nine months.

Ms Mullenger said she still has a lot of recovering to do, but the sentence is comforting.

“Knowing that he’s behind bars and can’t do anything to us, and I’m not looking over my shoulder in my local area, where he lives, is peace,” she told 3AW’s Tony Jones, filling in for Neil Mitchell.

“It’s certainly not closure, that’s going to take a long time.

“These sorts of things stay with you forever.”

Ms Mullenger said she feels lucky that her attacker was jailed, as other paramedic attackers have escaped prison time.

“I got a sentence, Monica and Paul didn’t get incarceration time,” she said.

“They don’t have that next phase of being able to grieve into the next stage of processing everything that’s happened, and I’m lucky enough to have that, so I am grateful.”

Ms Mullenger said her attacker, who has mental health problems and a history of crime, was let down by the system, but she “will never forgive him” for attacking her.

“The system did let him down, the system has let me down. When I found out he was on a community corrections order when he assaulted me, I was wanting to speak to the person who was managing that,” she said.

“I wanted someone to be accountable, but as the judge explained, the system is broken.

“It’s going to be a long road but we’re moving on the upward trend now.”

Press PLAY below for the interview.

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