STATE OF TASMANIA v KYNAN JAMES LOWREY-SHERRIFF 31 JULY 2026
COMMENTS ON PASSING SENTENCE JAGO J
Kynan Lowrey-Sherriff, you have pleaded guilty to the crime of assault. The offence occurred on 7 November 2025. At the time, you were aged 23 years. The victim of your crime was aged 36. You knew him. You had apparently received some information to suggest the complainant had been spending time with your 14-year-old cousin. You were upset by this. You walked to his house. When he opened the door, you told him that you had seen a video of him with your cousin. You then stepped forward and struck him once to the left cheek with a closed fist. It was a hard blow. After delivering the punch, you left the unit. The complainant felt immediate pain and was bleeding. He was transported to the Northwest Regional Hospital.
Upon arrival, he was unable to fully open his mouth and had a visible fracture through the gum line. Further examination confirmed that he had an acute fracture of the left ramus of the jawbone, being the vertical section of the lower jaw, and an acute fracture along the mid-line of the jawbone with slightly displayed fracture fragments, being the front central part of the lower jawbone. In other words, his jaw was broken in two places. He was urgently transported to the Royal Hobart Hospital for surgery. Plates and screws were inserted to stabilise the jawbone fractures. The complainant has been left with scarring, his jaw clicks on occasion, and he still experiences pain. He was on a soft food diet for several months after the surgery. I have received a victim impact statement from him. Beyond the obvious physical pain associated with his jaw, he is now anxious and hyper vigilant and is reluctant to go out.
You were spoken to by police. You made full admissions. You told police that you attended the complainant’s home to confront him about the video that you had seen. You said to police “I reckon I’ve hit him as hard as I could punch. I’ve probably put half of my force into it. Probably a bit more than half.” You also told police that you were planning to hit him with a beer bottle, but decided against that, so punched him instead. You said your purpose was to “teach him a lesson”. You pleaded guilty to this matter at an early stage when it was still before the Magistrates Court.
You are 24 years of age. You have relevant prior convictions. In 2023 you were convicted in the Magistrates Court of common assault and resist and threaten a police officer. Two days before this crime was committed you appeared in the Magistrates Court, and you were convicted of common assault and destroy property. A 12-month Community Correction Order was imposed. Clearly that experience had little impact upon you because within days you again perpetrated a serious act of violence. Since this crime was committed, you have been convicted of another four counts of common assault and one count of destroy property, although they occurred in August 2025. They were family violence offences.
You receive a Disability Support pension, and some NDIS assistance, for a mild intellectual disability. You also have a number of mental health difficulties. You suffer with ADHD and have experienced suicidal ideation. Symptoms of bi-polar disorder have also been noted but it seems you have not had appropriate mental health support and therefore your possible conditions have not been fully explored.
You were raised by a single mother. You are unable to live with her but nevertheless maintain a good relationship with her. A primary support for you over the years has been your grandmother. She died three years ago, which was a very difficult time for you. You have experienced instability in terms of accommodation. For the past 12 months or so, you have been transient, relying upon friends for accommodation, or “sleeping rough”. This has had a de-stabilising effect upon you.
During your childhood, you experienced sexual abuse at the hands of one of your father’s friends. That matter was reported to the authorities, but the alleged perpetrator suicided before the matter was finalised. I am told that following the sexual abuse, you turned to drugs and alcohol as a coping mechanism. Your use of both substances has, at times, been excessive to the point where you have become unwell with symptoms of alcohol withdrawal. You recognise you need ongoing support in terms of your drug and alcohol abuse.
I am told that you acted as you did because you were concerned about the complainant’s behaviour towards your cousin. Apparently, it really troubled you because of your own experiences of sexual abuse as a young person, and against that background, you made the rash decision to involve yourself. The violence you inflicted was not spontaneous. You had obviously thought about what you were going to do, as evidenced by the comment you made to police that you decided against using a beer bottle. There was opportunity for you to reflect upon your plan, but you did not. Instead, upon the complainant opening the door, you struck him with a very forceful blow which caused him serious injury. You were seeking to extract retribution for what you perceived to be some level of wrongdoing on behalf of the complainant, based purely on what your 14-year-old cousin had told you, and on some apparent video. There was no need, at all, for you to become involved. If you had concerns, you should have raised them with the authorities. I am told the complainant was not charged in respect to any of the allegations that prompted your conduct. Behaviour of this nature must be denounced by the courts. People cannot take the law into their own hands and expect impunity.
I take into account your plea of guilty. It was, as I have noted, entered at an early stage, when the matter was still before the Magistrates Court. It is consistent with what is now put to me on your behalf, and that is, that you recognise that what you did was wrong. I am also told that you are keen to try and address many of the difficulties that seem to underpin your offending – illicit substance and alcohol misuse, and mental health concerns. To that end I had you assessed as to your suitability for a Community Corrections Order. Unfortunately, you are deemed unsuitable because of previous poor compliance with such orders and your apparent inability to self-regulate. Given your still relatively young age, some level of support is appropriate. I will therefore allow for parole at the earliest opportunity in the hope that may provide a level of assistance as you return to the community. It may be s 70 of the Corrections Act will operate to extend that period, depending on what occurs in respect to some other matters, but that is a situation unknown to me.
I make the following orders. You are convicted of the crime of assault. You are sentenced to imprisonment for a period of nine months, commencing 29 July 2026. I order that you not be eligible for parole until you have served one half of that sentence of imprisonment.