The Court: Melbourne Magistrates Court
The Lawyer: Lucy Massouras
The Charges:
The Allegations:
The charges arose from a dispute between the client and his underage son. The client lost his temper and physically disciplined the child. The incident stemmed from the client being informed by his son’s school that he had been suspended due to skipping classes and being disrespectful to the teachers.
After being informed by the school, the client confronted his son at home. During a heated argument, the client became enraged and slapped his son multiple times. This resulted in redness and bruising on the child’s face and neck.
The client’s ex-wife and the mother of the child reported the incident to police. This case’s main challenges were that the victim was a child and that the assault resulted in visible injuries to the victim. The client was subsequently charged with three charges of Recklessly Causing Injury and three charges of Common Assault against his son.
At Court:
After discussions with the Informant and the prosecution, it was conceded that it was not possible to ascertain which action, point of contact between the accused and the victim, resulted in which injury. Our solicitor successfully argued that the entire incident constituted one continuous act.
The prosecution then withdrew all charges except for one charge of Recklessly Causing Injury, and the matter proceeded as a plea of guilty to that charge. Supporting material was tendered to the court during the plea hearing, including character references, a letter from the client’s employer and a certificate of completion for an anger management course the client had undertaken.
The Outcome:
After a plea in mitigation, the client was sentenced to an adjourned undertaking. requiring the client to be of good behaviour for 12 months. This was a very light penalty.
