A man who kicked his victim unconscious during a "prolonged and savage" reprisal should be afforded leniency otherwise he would face a "very sad existence if his spirit is crushed and comes out with no hope" after serving his punishment, his lawyer has argued.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Jamie Mitchell Barry, 18, appeared via audio-visual link from the Alexander Maconochie Centre on Tuesday after pleading guilty to reprisal against a person involved in a legal proceeding, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, act of indecency, intentional threat to kill, and robbery.
A statement of facts reads that the victim was allegedly assaulted on March 4 in which that case is now before a court.
During the early hours of March 26, the victim went with another person to a Dunlop residence to smoke cannabis.
When the victim entered the house, Barry, in the presence of other people, fired off some questions at him after he said another male at the place looked like the person who allegedly assaulted him earlier that month.
It led Barry to a prolonged assault of the victim that spilled out at the front of the premises.
The assault included numerous strikes to the face, including kicks that sent his head snapping backwards.
Barry said "I'll kill ya" and "I'll put a bullet in ya" before kicking him in the face some more times in which one roundhouse kick "with extreme force" knocked out the victim, who landed on his back and head.
Even as the victim was motionless on the ground, the offender stood over him and yelled "you f--king bitch c--t".
When the victim regained consciousness 83 seconds later, he got to his knees and hands.
Barry then squatted behind him and simulated sexually assaulting him by repeatedly thrusting his groins towards the victim's buttocks.
When the victim tried calling his mother, Barry took the phone before ordering the victim to take off his clothes at the front lawn.
He was finally able to escape and sought refuge at a neighbouring property before receiving help.
During the 12-minute assault, raucous laughter and cackling could be heard from others at the scene.
CCTV and mobile phone footage of the vicious assault was played during sentencing.
Prosecutor Sam Bargwanna said the assault was "prolonged, violent and savage" and that the offender had a significant physical advantage over the victim.
The prosecutor said the blows were "almost exclusively to the head", including when the victim was on the ground.
"It cannot be disputed that this case was one of retribution," he said.
Mr Bargwanna said deterring others was important because crimes of retribution "need to be deterred at the highest level".
He argued for a non-parole period because a report showed Barry having behavioural issues at the jail where he has spent nearly 150 days in pre-sentence custody.
Defence lawyer Alyn Doig said his client accepted the offences were serious not only because of the maximum penalties but also because of what is shown in the footage.
He said it was "likely that a lot of alcohol was involved" that led to a "wolf pack" where a "large number of people were acting like idiots".
He said, however, alcohol was not an excuse but to put the situation into context.
"It's very, very lucky that we're not facing a different sort of charge here," Mr Doig said.
The defence lawyer said rehabilitation of the 18 year old was paramount and that his client was remorseful and recognised his offending behaviour.
"It is the beginning of a coming of age, a beginning of maturity, a beginning of understanding," Mr Doig said.
The lawyer asked for leniency otherwise Barry "faces a very sad existence if his spirit is crushed and comes out with no hope".
Magistrate James Stewart said it was "extraordinary that the complainant was left unconscious and unattended for so long".
"It's a salient feature of this offending," Mr Stewart said.
"The seriousness of your offending is obvious on the footage and is shocking to anyone watching it."
Mr Stewart told the offender he was right "to be ashamed of your behaviour".
"But on the other hand, you're a very young man and I have to take care of how I sentence you because ultimately this court should be trying to promote the rest of your life rather than crush it," he said.
The magistrate is set to hand down his sentence on September 30.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark canberratimes.com.au
- Download our app
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
