September 9, 2010
A 26-year-old man has been spared an immediate jail term for a "vicious attack" on a Perth crowd controller that saw him repeatedly punch his victim before landing a "full swing" kick as he lay on the ground.
Car salesman Benjamin Michael Sporn was told by the magistrate that he only he escaped immediate time behind bars because he did not have a criminal record for violence.
The attack outside the city's Amplifier Bar in May was captured on camera and had been posted on YouTube. Sporn had pleaded guilty to assault occasioning bodily harm and was given a six month and one day jail term suspended for 12 months. He will only serve the term if he reoffends in the next year.
Magistrate Guiseppe Cicchini today labelled the offence as a vicious, sustained, very aggressive and cowardly attack that had seen Sporn "pummel" his victim before being dragged off by a "brave" patron.
"He was there delivering a barrage of punches as seen in the video," Mr Cicchini said.
The court was told the bystander had to use some force to pull Sporn from his victim before the offender returned and kicked the crowd controller.
"It was a full swing kick," the magistrate said, telling the court that the footage not only captured the vision of the attack but also the sound, with a "thud" audible during the kick.
Mr Cicchini said it was thankful the victim had not received more significant injuries than bruising and grazing from the serious assault. He told Sporn that he had "no doubt" he would have sent him straight behind bars if he had a violent criminal record.
The court was told Sporn only had three disorderly conduct convictions, with his defence lawyer Mark Andrews saying he had been affected by alcohol during all of his offences.
Defence lawyer Mark Andrews said his client was remorseful and had suffered extensive ridicule for his crime after the incident was posted online.
Mr Andrews said his client had been heavily intoxicated during the attack and submitted that the incident had been sparked by some earlier "two way argy bargy" between Sporn and his victim. This incident later fuelled a larger altercation between Sporn and his friends and a group of crowd controllers at Amplifer's entrance.
The magistrate accepted that Sporn had not sparked the broader clash between the groups.
Det-Sen Const. Jamie Paterson said outside court moments after the sentencing that the victim was fortunate not to receive worse injuries.
"I have certainly seen it go the other way. In this case the victim was lucky," he said.
The detective said such violent attacks were a worry and doing little for the reputation of the city's nightspots.
A planned police crackdown on violent anti-social behaviour this weekend in entertainment precincts would help tackle the issue, Det-Sen Const Paterson said.
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