A drunken and unprovoked Christmas Day assault has left a party host with serious injuries and requiring plaster casts for both his hands.
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Aiden Edward Paff, 24, faced the ACT Magistrates Court on Wednesday after pleading guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm and property damage.
The Monash man, who escaped further time behind bars, was charged and sentenced over an incident that occurred on December 25, 2022, when he tried to gatecrash a backyard Christmas dinner.
About 10.30pm, an intoxicated Paff tried jumping the fence of a Kambah home.
When attendees prevented the offender from accessing the property, Paff began knocking on the home's roller door, where he was met by the party host.
The victim tried to calm down Paff, who began "punching, pushing and kicking", according to court documents.
The offender then pushed the victim in the chest, causing him to fall over.
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As a result of that fall, the victim required surgery, a metal plate and 10 metal screws in his left wrist, and two surgical bone pins in his right thumb, with both hands being plastered.
The victim's phone was also damaged and his car was left dinted after being kicked by his assailant.
Paff was arrested and taken to the ACT Regional Watch House after being "too drunk to interview".
He received a 12-month jail sentence on Wednesday, to be served by way of an intensive correction order in the community, and is set to complete 75 hours of community service.
Despite remaining straight-faced during the sentencing, Paff was spotted shortly after his conviction in the court corridors taking a smiling selfie.
His grin was again on display as he waved and stuck up his middle finger to a media camera while leaving court.
Paff's victim said the "unprovoked" attack "from a person I did not even know" left him with significant pain and physical difficulties.
"You will never know the impact of your actions," he said in a victim impact statement.
"I used to get nightmares because I was scared of someone coming into the house."
The man said both he and his wife, who became his full-time carer while his hands were plastered, lost income due to the assault.
Chief Magistrate Lorraine Walker said the incident had left the victim "significantly incapacitated".
She said that while the push which constituted the assault was a "relatively low level act", the result was "significant and ongoing".
Ms Walker also said there was a specific need for general deterrence, "especially for young men".
She described alcohol-fueled violence as "a plague on our community".
The court heard Paff was also facing driving charges in the same court and a separate violent assault charge, to which he has pleaded guilty, in the ACT Supreme Court.
"The plot thickens," the Chief Magistrate said.
Paff is next set to appear in court in August.
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Tim Piccione
Tim is a journalist with the Canberra Times covering the ACT courts. He came to the nation's capital via the Daily Advertiser in Wagga. Contact: tim.piccione@canberratimes.com.au.
Tim is a journalist with the Canberra Times covering the ACT courts. He came to the nation's capital via the Daily Advertiser in Wagga. Contact: tim.piccione@canberratimes.com.au.
