A young Irishman who punched a man multiple times in the face and broke his jaw and nose in Australia avoided jail and received a nine-month suspended sentence.
Dean O’Brien appeared at the ACT Supreme Court on Friday and faced a string of assault-related charges.
The 24-year-old was arrested and detained by police last July after he handed himself in to cops after he repeatedly punched another customer at a north Canberra pub.
O’Brien struck the man twice in the head at Moby Dick’s Tavern and the victim of the assault had several of his teeth knocked out.
The court viewed CCTV footage of the incident, which showed the defendant punching a man twice in the head.
O’Brien hit him another seven times after he fell to the ground.
He was handed the nine-month suspended sentence on Friday and entered into a good behaviour order.
Documents handed in to the court revealed that the man that O’Brien punched had been shouting and behaving in a threatening manner towards other customers at the pub.
He told one woman that he would “punch her head in” and he repeatedly called another woman “a slut” and “c***” throughout the evening, according to ABC News.
The court documents stated that O’Brien had punched the victim after the irate individual threatened to hurt and harm the defendant and his friends.
The victim said, “Come on your Irish c***s, I’ll glass you.”
When paramedics arrived to treat the victim they were also forced to remove him from the ambulance due to his unreasonable and aggressive manner, according to court documents.
In his sentencing remarks, Justice Michael Elkhaim stated that he believed O’Brien had acted to protect the women at the pub and although the victim had been behaving inappropriately, he should not have assaulted the man.
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