ACT Supreme Court sentencing begins for Aiden Paff, accused of Civic assault

Aiden Edward Paff, 24, faced the start of his sentencing proceedings in the ACT Supreme Court on Tuesday

He had previously pleaded guilty to one count of recklessly inflicting grievous bodily harm.

Agreed facts state that about 1am on December 10, 2022, the victim and a friend were in Bible Lane in Civic having a conversation with an unknown group of men.

One of the men said a racial slur and the conversation "deteriorated" and a physical fight broke out.

Paff punched the victim's head with a closed fist, causing the man to drop to the ground and hit his face on the concrete pavement.

The victim believes he lost consciousness for a short period of time.

When he attempted to raise his head and get back to his feet, Paff kicked him in the head.

The victim suffered fractures to his cheekbone, left eye socket, and a cracked skull.

In a victim impact statement, read to the court on Tuesday, the man said after the assault he had "contemplated if it was really worth living anymore".

"My has life changed dramatically," he said.

In the statement, the man claimed on Christmas Day shortly after the fight "my nieces looked at me and all they could do was cry".

"That hurt my heart and soul."

The victim, who described himself as "quite the social butterfly", hasn't been out at night since the assault.

"I used to enjoy the nightlife. Now, I just sit in my home and do nothing," he said.

"I just want to be back to the same bloke I was before the assault."

Prosecutor Sam Bargwanna told the court the victim had tried to intervene and placate the fight on the night in question.

"The victim effectively did nothing apart from trying to calm everything down, he did nothing wrong," Mr Bargwanna said.

Paff's solicitor, Tim Sharman, argued the conduct of his client was "appalling" but it "wasn't wanton".

"It wasn't somebody going around the City looking to cause injury to completely innocent people," Mr Sharman said.

"[Paff] can't take back the pain and suffering that he has caused ... all he can do is take the opportunity that's been afforded to him and grow as a person and to ensure this never happens again."

Justice Chrissa Loukas-Karlsson spoke directly to Paff, saying the crimes "should never have happened".

"Lives have been harmed and you must think about that everyday," she said.

Paff was sentenced to a 12-month intensive correction order in June for a separate assault, which occurred 15 days after the Bible Lane fight.

The 24-year-old tried to gatecrash a backyard Christmas dinner and attacked a party host who was left with serious injuries requiring plaster casts on both his hands.

Justice Loukas-Karlsson is set to hand down her sentence on September 15.

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