Assault occasioning actual bodily harm charge for elderly man who fought his brother
Adrian* was an elderly man. Police charged him with assault occasioning actual bodily harm in contravention of Section 59(1) of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW). This carries a maximum penalty of seven years imprisonment.
The background to the offending was as follows. Adrian and his brother, who he also lives with and suffers from dementia, drank at separate clubs that day, when they arrived at their Bondi home at the same time. Then, they got into a verbal argument over who was meant to shout a round of drinks the week prior.
Subsequently, the two ‘took it outside’ to the front veranda and began exchanging blows. Then, they re-entered the house and went into their separate rooms. A neighbour witnessed this and called police who attended the scene and placed both under arrest.
Before contacting our firm Adrian represented himself in Court. He entered a plea of not guilty to the charge and intended to argue the defence of self-defence.
Should an elderly man with no prior convictions for violent offending get a conviction for having a brouhaha with his elderly brother?
Outcome: Conditional Release Order, without conviction
Our criminal solicitor attended Waverley Local Court in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs with Adrian on the day of his defended hearing. However, prior to the hearing our solicitor advised Adrian that he should instead enter a plea of guilty and proceed directly to sentence, which we did. At that sentencing, after our solicitor successfully advocated for Adrian, the Magistrate sentenced him to a Conditional Release Order, without conviction, for a period of 12 months.
*We change names to protect client confidentiality
If police charge you with assault, contact our criminal defence lawyers immediately. We will advise you the best course of action to avoid prison time.
