STATE OF TASMANIA v RENARD WILLIAM SAUNDERS 3 JULY 2026
COMMENTS ON PASSING SENTENCE ESTCOURT J
The defendant, Renard William Saunders, has pleaded guilty to three counts on an indictment, one of strangulation, a second of strangulation, and a third of assault.
The first count alleges that at Hobart on 1 December 2023, he intentionally and unlawfully strangled Kyle William Banks by placing his arm around his neck and applying force until he lost consciousness. The second count alleges strangulation in precisely the same terms, say at a later point in time by some ten minutes or so. The third count on the indictment alleges assault at Hobart in Tasmania on 1 December 2023, in that the defendant assaulted the same complainant, Kyle William Banks, by punching him in the mouth multiple times, and, on the fact stated to me, at a time when the complainant had lost consciousness.
The complainant was highly intoxicated at the time and had no memory of being assaulted. Police observed swelling to the bank of his head and he asked police officers why his mouth was swollen and sore. Initially, the complainant refused medical treatment, but after some discussions with police and ambulance, he agreed to be taken to the Royal Hobart Hospital. As a result of the incident, he suffered from a significant concussion and swelling, and cuts to his lower lip. He was referred for a follow up with the Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Clinic upon discharge the following day.
The defendant did what he did as encompassed in counts one and two, as a result of the belief that the complainant was making unwanted advances upon a Miss Finnegan, but he accepts that the force he used was excessive.
The defendant has no prior convictions of any relevance to the charges before me at the moment. Although intoxicated at the time, he is clearly of previous good character as attested by references that have been handed to me and read by me, and he has stopped consuming alcohol, and according to those references, matured significantly since these offences. As a result, the offences would appear to be aberrant behaviour. He deeply regrets his conduct, particularly count three, and has written a letter of apology to the Court, which I accept as genuine.
The defendant is convicted of each of the crimes to which he has pleaded guilty and I impose a single sentence of 15 months’ imprisonment, wholly suspended for a period of two years on condition that within that period, he commit no offence punishable by imprisonment.