STATE OF TASMANIA v KURT ANTHONY LOWE 22 SEPTEMBER 2021
COMMENTS ON PASSING SENTENCE ESTCOURT J
The defendant, Kurt Anthony Lowe now aged 34 has been found not guilty of the crime of causing grievous bodily harm but guilty of assaulting the complainant, Jason Vivien Stewart by punching him multiple times to the face.
The assault occurred at O’Keefe’s Hotel about 1.35am on 11 August 2019. The complainant was left with a bruised face and an avulsed left lower eyelid and torn tear duct which was successfully repaired by surgeons at the Launceston General Hospital – with some skill obviously. Fortunately, as a result, the complainant has made a full recovery and has a good prognosis. He has not made a victim impact statement but it is clear that he must have suffered significant pain and discomfort.
The defendant’s defence was that of self defence, however I am satisfied to the requisite degree that the case was not one involving self defence at all. I am satisfied that at the end of a night of some acrimony between the complainant and the defendant arising from a real or perceived slight of the defendant by the complainant, the complainant, as he was about to leave the hotel, stretched out his hand to shake hands with the defendant, but the defendant, in anger, seized the complainant’s arm pulling him to the ground and savagely punching him. The extent of the defendant’s anger was apparent from his pursuit of the complaint after the attack had ended and the complaint had gone into the hotel toilets to clean his face of blood.
Enough has been said about late night drunken attacks of this kind for the community to understand that such crimes will be frequently dealt with by way of an actual sentence of imprisonment. In the present case, taking into account the complainant’s successful resolution of his injuries and the defendant’s age, his current employment, his family responsibilities as a father of three children and his previous good character, I am satisfied that a suspended sentence of imprisonment coupled with a community correction order will serve the purpose of general deterrence, which is the predominate sentencing consideration here.
The defendant is convicted of assault and is sentenced to 9 months’ imprisonment, which sentence I wholly suspend for a period of 2 years on condition that he commit no offence punishable by imprisonment during that period. In addition, I make a community corrections order for a period of 3 years with all of the core conditions and a condition that within the operative period of the order he complete 98 hours of community service. I set an extended operational period because of the limitations placed on the availability of suitable community service in the St Helens area as a result, amongst other things, of the COVID-19 pandemic.