A woman who was kidnapped and threatened with a knife by her superyacht worker ex-boyfriend has extended an olive branch, as the man fights to avoid a prison term.
Ethan Davis, 24, has pleaded guilty to a string of domestic violence charges, including for abducting the woman into a car late at night in August 2023.
He dressed in all black and wore black latex gloves as he lay in wait for her to finish work in Sydney about 9pm.
Davis grabbed her while she resisted and screamed for help, and chased her down and covered her mouth when she broke free, before shoving her into the car.
The woman was crying and shaking throughout the ordeal of more than 40 minutes, where he forced her to delete messages and photos from her phone while armed with a multi-tool with the knife blade extended.
In a victim impact statement read in the Downing Centre District Court on Friday, the woman said she was experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder and struggling to sleep after the ordeal.
But the victim, who watched court proceedings online, said Davis' rehabilitation was important.
"I do not have hatred towards Ethan and I sincerely hope he receives the help he needs," the statement read.
Davis, who used the court hearing to apologise to his ex-girlfriend, said her words were "really gracious".
"I feel terrible about it and if I could take it back I would, and I really want you to know I'm really sorry," he told the court.
"That was a very bad version of myself and I never want to be that person again."
Davis' calm demeanour in court contrasted with offending his barrister David Carroll labelled "reprehensible" and "extreme".
After the pair broke up in August 2023, Davis called the woman more than 200 times on various applications and bombarded her with messages.
He told his former partner there would be consequences if she didn't respond, saying he would break into her house to get to her.
According to agreed facts, Davis threatened to release a naked video of the woman if she didn't answer her phone, to which she warned him she would go to police with screenshots of his messages if he persisted.
Mr Carroll pointed to a sentence assessment report that found Davis was not a risk of reoffending and had taken big steps in his rehabilitation.
"It is difficult to envisage a report which could be more positive than this report," he said.
Mr Carroll submitted that Davis should complete a corrections order, rather than be sent to jail.
The prosecution had previously submitted Davis must face prison time for his offences.
Davis remains on bail before his sentence is handed down on Tuesday.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
Lifeline 13 11 14
Men's Referral Service 1300 766 491
