A man who swung a bag loaded with beer bottles at another man's face at a Victorian music festival has avoided going to jail.
New Zealand resident Jonathan Ewington, 39, was partying at the Rancho Relaxo festival at Victoria's Mornington Peninsula on April 7, 2019, when he confronted two men who were not wearing the required wristbands.
He demanded to know what was inside their bags, thinking they had taken items from revellers, before chasing them down when they tried to run.
The victim tried to show Ewington the bottles of beer inside his bag but the 39-year-old grabbed it and started walked towards the second man.
When the victim tried to grab his bag back, Ewington swung it, hitting the victim in the face.
The man dropped to the ground, clutching at his jaw, and Ewington told him he was trespassing and to leave before walking away himself.
In his sentencing remarks on Monday, County Court Judge Simon Moglia described the assault, which left the victim with a fractured jaw and damaged teeth, as "momentary and impulsive".
Judge Moglia noted Ewington's remorse, saying the 39-year-old reported the assault to a festival organiser and made admissions to police when he handed himself in the next day.
The judge said Ewington's guilty plea to recklessly causing serious injury was significant, as was his willingness to pay for the victim's medical bills.
Judge Moglia said a jail term wasn't necessary due to Ewington's genuine remorse, prospects of rehabilitation and his separation from his New Zealand family would serve as an additional punishment.
Ewington was sentenced to a 30-month community corrections order with 350 hours of unpaid community work.
