A teenager has dodged a jail term after pleading guilty to bashing a Deaf man at a Perth train station, but he will face imprisonment if he offends again in the next year, a judge has warned.
Joshua William Bignell, 18, bashed Seow Oh, 28, fracturing his eye socket, in the eastern Perth suburb of Carlisle in June last year.
Bignell bashed and kicked Mr Oh from behind as he was walking to his car parked at the station. Bignell was originally charged with assault occasioning bodily harm but the charge was later upgraded to grievous bodily harm.
On Monday, in the District Court of Western Australia Judge Phillip Eaton handed Bignell a pre-sentence order, subject to three reviews over the next 12 months. Judge Eaton decided not to imprison Bignell immediately because he was young, had a troubled childhood and mental health problems and was "now in a stable situation".
If Bignell committed an offence in the next 12 months, it was likely he'd be sentenced to an immediate term of imprisonment, Judge Eaton warned. "You can just about bank on that," he said.
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"If you're going well, I'll allow the order to continue. "If things are falling apart, then I won't hesitate to bring it to an end. "If you fail, Mr Bignell, then the consequences will be grim."
Judge Eaton said the maximum penalty for the offence was 10 years' imprisonment, meaning Bignell was "in the big league" after "fairly relentless offending" in recent years. ... READ MORE: http://www.watoday.com.au/wa-news/wa-teen-dodges-jail-for-bashing-deaf-man-20130225-2f1zl.html
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