It is to my great shame that when a girlfriend told a group of us her on-off boyfriend had hit her some twenty years ago, I just couldn’t – make that didn’t want to – believe her.

I had known this man quite well and one of the women in the group hearing this confession had also been out with him prior. She described him as being the charming, gentle and funny man we all believed him to be. But people are not as they always seem. We had been fooled in the worst way.

Luke Munday arrives at Camden Local Court on Thursday. Credit:AAP

I heard this same man was charged several years later with assault on his then-wife. And despite knowing his history, I was still shocked to hear it. He just didn’t seem the type – still.

Then there was the guilt. Could I have said something, done something? But there is no doubt he was indeed a nasty piece of work. Where he is now, I have no idea - and that’s worrying.