A 24-year-old Irish national who punched a man in the face multiple times, breaking his jaw, nose and removing several of his teeth has received a suspended sentence and good behaviour order in the ACT Supreme Court.
Dean O'Brien was arrested in July last year after he turned himself in to police over an assault that took place at Moby Dick's Tavern, in Canberra's north.
The court viewed CCTV footage of the incident, which showed O'Brien punching a man twice in the head before the man fell to the ground and O'Brien punched him another seven times.
O'Brien spent 50 days in prison over the incident.
Today, he received a nine-month suspended sentence and entered into a good behaviour order.
Documents tendered to the court showed the man O'Brien punched had been yelling and threatening other patrons at the pub – including telling one woman that he would "punch her head in".
The documents said the victim called another woman a "slut" and "c***" throughout the evening and that O'Brien had lashed out at the victim after he threatened to hurt O'Brien and his friends, saying:
"Come on your Irish c***s, I'll glass you."
The documents also said that when paramedics arrived to assist the victim, they had to remove him from the ambulance due to his aggressive behaviour.
In his sentencing remarks, Justice Michael Elkhaim said O'Brien had acted to protect the women at the pub and noted that while O'Brien was responding to inappropriate behaviour, it was not his place to take matters into his own hands.
"[The victim] behaved appallingly, he deserved to be reprimanded.
"Whatever [the victim's] failing, there is no room for vigilante conduct."
Life of hardship prior to assault
The court heard that O'Brien had suffered serious hardship after his sister died after falling from a cruise ship when she was 15 years old.
Justice Elkhaim told the court her death led to the breakdown of O'Brien's family, including his father's suicide.
O'Brien's lawyer said he travelled to Australia "to escape the trauma of his past".
O'Brien now lives in Sydney, where he acts as a carer and companion to his sister who lives with bipolar disorder and he works as a carpenter, the defence told the court.
They further noted that O'Brien had received therapy.
Justice Elkhaim said he felt confident O'Brien had acknowledged the errors of his actions.
