STATE OF TASMANIA v KAHDAN JOEL JOHNS 12 AUGUST 2022
COMMENTS ON PASSING SENTENCE PEARCE J
Kahdan Johns, you plead guilty to assault. Just after midday on Saturday 5 February 2022 you went with two other men to the home in Mangana, an isolated rural area in north east Tasmania, where the complainant, a man aged 39, lived with his mother, partner and step son. I accept that you had a genuine belief that the complainant was at least partly responsible for the ongoing harassment of your aunt, who was a neighbour, by trespassing on and damaging her property. I do not have the other side of the story, but what you contend is not disputed and I must sentence you on the basis of it. The situation had become distressing for your aunt, and her distress had not been alleviated by other measures including by obtaining a restraining order. You decided do something about it. You arrived at the complainant’s home on the pretext that you wanted to look at cars the complainant had for sale, but when he approached you told him that you were there to “kick the shit out of whoever was harassing his aunty.” He denied any responsibility but you threatened him again. When he tried to run away you tripped him. While he was on the ground you repeatedly punched and kicked him. He later told the police that he was punched and kicked about 50 times over about three minutes. You later admitted that after you tripped him you struck him about 10 or 12 times. You admitted punching him on multiple occasions to his head and to kicking him in the torso. The precise number of times you struck him cannot be determined but you are to be sentenced on the basis that the truth is somewhere between the two versions. He did not fight back at all.
You are now aged 35. Your record is mostly for driving offences, some alcohol related. The only relevant conviction for violence is a common assault in 2011. You were fined $500 for punching a security guard at a hotel when he tried to intervene in a drunken fight between you and another man.
The complainant was injured. He was taken to the emergency department of the LGH. He had bruises to his head, face and chest wall. There were superficial abrasions to the front and back of his torso. Most seriously however, his left jaw was broken. His nose was broken and some of his teeth were loose. He was referred to specialists in Hobart for treatment to his jaw. Surgery to repair it was recommended and scheduled. In his victim impact statement he describes how painful his chest, head and face were and how difficult it is for him to deal with the ongoing impact of his injuries. Despite a number of trips to and from Hobart the surgery was postponed through no fault of his. I have been informed however that the surgery did become available. The reason he has not availed himself of the opportunity for remedial surgery, given the serious impact he says that his injuries have on him, is not readily apparent. I would accept however, that the physical and psychological impact on him is the type of impact which would be expected to result from an assault of the type he experienced and the injuries he suffered.
About a week after the assault you presented yourself to the police and admitted what you had done. You entered an early plea of guilty. Both of those things are in your favour because they indicate an acceptance of responsibility for your actions, some remorse, and you have facilitated justice. You are in a long term relationship and have four children. You are in stable employment. References from your employer, senior representatives of the aboriginal community and others, attest to the high regard in which you are generally held and to the contributions you have made to the community. Nevertheless you and others must understand that resort to violence as a means of resolving personal disputes, particularly violence of this level and consequence, is to be condemned and punished. I consider that a sentence of imprisonment is required but I will permit you the opportunity to avoid having to serve an actual term of imprisonment provided you do not re-offend and you perform community service. The sentence is intended to make clear to you that any repetition will almost inevitably result in imprisonment.
You are convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for nine months, wholly suspended for two years from today. It is a condition of that order that while it is in force you do not commit any offence punishable by imprisonment. You must understand that if you breach that condition then a court must order that you serve that term unless it is unjust. I impose a further condition that, within the operational period of two years from today, you perform 105 hours of community service. That is the equivalent of 15 full days. The conditions which the law imposes on that order include that you must report to a probation officer at the office of Community Corrections at 111-113 Cameron Street, Launceston on or before 5.00 pm on Monday 15 August 2022, you must, during the operational period of the order, report to a probation officer as required by the probation officer and comply with the reasonable and lawful directions of a probation officer or a supervisor, you must not, during the operational period of the order, leave, or remain outside, Tasmania without the permission of a probation officer and you must, during the operational period of the order, give notice to a probation officer of any change of address or employment before, or within two working days after, the change. If you breach any of those conditions you may be brought back to court and re-sentenced.