A Coffs Harbour man, who falsely claimed to have COVID-19, has pleaded guilty to charges stemming from an incident in which he deliberately coughed on a 71-year-old employee during a prank at a police station.
William West, 21, filmed himself carrying out a "joke" at the Coffs Harbour police station on March 25, when he was reporting to the station as part of bail conditions for other matters.
Police charged him with giving false information, and resisting or hindering a police officer in the execution of duty.
A charge of stalking and intimidation has since been withdrawn.
Lawyer Ruth Carty represented West, who did not appear at Coffs Harbour Local Court today, during his sentencing for the prank and a separate serious assault matter.
She told the court the 21-year-old was "greatly embarrassed" and remorseful about the joke, which he understood was not funny given the current coronavirus pandemic.
"It was extremely bad taste. It was intended as a joke," Ms Carty said during sentencing submissions.
She told the court West came from a "background of disadvantage and neglect" after he left home to escape domestic violence when he was 11 years old.
Ms Carty said West suffered from depression and anxiety rooted in childhood trauma, and was engaging with youth mental health service Headspace for support with anger management.
She told the court West was taking mood stabilisers at the time of the incident and "wasn't himself".
She argued a suitable sentence for the prank would be a community corrections order, formerly known as a good behaviour bond.
Police employee on stress leave
The police prosecutor, Sergeant Heidi Warren, said the magistrate should consider jail time.
She told the court West had committed an act of "gratuitous cruelty" against a "vulnerable" general station officer, who remains on full time stress leave because of the incident.
Sgt Warren said the brief closure of the police station while health protocols were being carried out unnecessarily hindered the work of local healthcare workers and police officers.
"He's the perfect example of when a message needs to be sent to the community," Sgt Warren said.
Magistrate Ian Rodgers said he needed more time to consider the sentence for the matter as well as the other unrelated matters.
West has been out on strict conditional bail since the incident and is due to appear in court on Tuesday for his sentencing.
