STATE OF TASMANIA v TRISTAN JOHN WOOD 18 DECEMBER 2023
COMMENTS ON PASSING SENTENCE PEARCE J
Tristan Wood, you plead guilty to assault. The assault occurred at about 11.30 pm on 7 January this year outside a hotel in the Launceston CBD. The victim, Callum Ackers, was waiting in line on the footpath to enter the hotel. At the time both he and you were 19. You had been told that during that evening there had been ongoing antagonism between him and another young man you knew. As you arrived your friend had punched Mr Ackers’ face, but you saw only that they were grappling with each other. Instead of staying out of it you took it upon yourself to intervene. You punched Mr Ackers so hard that he suffered a bilateral fracture of his lower jaw with bone protruding into his mouth inside his left cheek.
Your assault was a spontaneous single punch. The attack was not repeated or prolonged. It was motivated by a misplaced desire to stick up for your mate, but it was completely unnecessary and unreasonable. It is very well known that great damage can flow from a single punch. The injury Mr Ackers suffered was immediately very painful, frightening and traumatic. It was also traumatic for his partner who was there at the time. He was taken to hospital in Launceston but on the following day had to be airlifted to Hobart for surgery. Three metal plates were inserted to repair his jaw. The material given to me indicates that the bony injury suffered by Mr Ackers has healed, but he continues to experience numbness in his bottom lip, jaw and chin due to nerve damage and he is not sure whether sensation will ever fully return. As serious as the injury was, the long term damage could have been much worse. The period of recovery was very traumatic for Mr Ackers. He needed the help of his family to look after him for an extended period. He was off work for five weeks. In addition to the ongoing physical symptoms his victim impact speaks of the type of effects, depression, anxiety and self-imposed social isolation, which almost inevitably result in cases like this and which can be profound and long lasting.
You are now almost 20. You live with your mother and sister. Since completing grade 12 you have been working hard until you decide what you wish to do in the longer term. You currently have two labouring jobs, one in the morning and one in the afternoon respectively with a hire company and a wholesaler. You have been working six or seven days a week. Your father is ill and you help out with his care needs.
You were affected by alcohol at the time of this offence. While that may explain your actions it does not excuse them or lessen your responsibility for them. Courts and the community commonly express great concern about alcohol fuelled violence in and outside licensed premises, especially late at night, and those who are willing to unnecessarily engage in violent confrontation should expect little leniency. Sentences must serve to uphold community values and protect the public from those who may be minded to commit such violence.
A few days after the assault you presented to the police and while you initially denied any involvement you quickly changed your story and admitted what you had done. Once charged you quickly pleaded guilty. I accept that you are sorry for what you did although I suspect that you still do not have a full appreciation of how serious your conduct was. You are still a young person and you have no relevant prior convictions. All of the principles which apply to young offenders apply to you. It is apparent that you made a decision which showed a lack of judgment and self-control, characteristic of your youth. On the other hand, crimes like this are all too commonly committed by young intoxicated males. You and others must understand that actions like this have consequences. I have concluded that the nature and consequences of your assault mean that the only appropriate sentence is a period of imprisonment, but in light of your youth and lack of prior convictions that sentence will be wholly suspended. Because of the harm you caused, the appropriate course is at this stage is a substantial number of community service hours. You expressed to the author of the assessment report some reluctance to perform community service because of the already heavy demands on your time. But you have no choice except to comply with the order I am about to make even if it requires financial sacrifice to enable you to do so. It will be up to you to comply with the clear knowledge and understanding that a more serious form of punishment will be imposed if you do not. You should further understand that if there is a repeat of violence of this nature then you would have likely forfeited any further claim to lenience and prison would be almost inevitable.
Tristan Wood, you are convicted. I sentence you to a term of imprisonment of three months wholly suspended for two years on condition that you be subject to supervision in the community. The core conditions of that order will be specified in the order that you will be given and include that you not commit an offence punishable by imprisonment, that you report to and comply with the directions of a probation officer, that you must not leave Tasmania without permission and that you must notify of any change of address. I impose a special condition that you must, within the operational period of that order satisfactorily perform 140 hours of community service, as directed by a probation officer or a supervisor. If you commit another offence punishable by imprisonment then a court must activate that sentence that I have imposed unless that is unjust. If you breach any other of the conditions you may be brought back to court and re-sentenced.