By Cam Lucadou-Wells
A Pakenham single father of two has been jailed over the reckless glassing of another man at a 40th birthday party in Upper Beaconsfield in May 2015.
Bryce Desmond Harrington, 35, who had maintained his innocence, was found guilty by a County Court of Victoria jury of recklessly causing injury.
The jury acquitted the concreting business-owner of more serious charges of intentionally causing serious injury and recklessly causing serious injury.
In sentencing on 21 March, Judge Michael Tinney said Harrington, without forewarning, had jumped up from his fire-side seat and smashed a glass into the side of the seated victim’s face.
Harrington then started wrestling the victim on the ground over broken glass.
“(The victim) didn’t see it coming,” Judge Tinney said.
“He had no awareness at all of your attack.”
The “massively dangerous” assault was a serious crime – “totally uncalled for” and “totally unannounced” against a vulnerable and unprepared victim’s face, he said.
It was confirmed by three witnesses around the fire.
The judge said Harrington had no prior criminal history, excellent work history, family references and rehabilitative prospects.
He was assessed as a low risk of re-offending.
“I just don’t know what got in your head to do what you did,” Judge Tinney said.
There was a need to send a “strong message” of general deterrence due to glassing’s “high level of dangerousness”.
“Your mechanism was extremely serious. It was a deliberate act and involved a strike of the glass to the face of another man.
“It simply will not be tolerated by the community or the courts.”
The jury had found Harrington foresaw his actions would cause injury, but not serious injury, Judge Tinney said.
The victim, who was not previously known to Harrington, suffered deep lacerations to his face, nerve damage and the severing of an artery behind his ear that required plastic surgery.
Stricken by nightmares, the man was inflicted with a “worrying scar” that provoked comment and dented his social confidence.
At first, the victim was ready to forgive Harrington in a “rough and ready way” and waved police from the scene – until he later learnt of how severely he was injured.
In his victim impact statement, he described the assault as the “worst moment of his life”.
The man and Harrington had earlier verbally clashed at the party, where both had been drinking. Harrington drank about 10 cans of mixed drink, Judge Tinney said.
The accused claimed in a police interview that the “loudmouth” victim had called him a racist during the exchange, Judge Tinney said.
The victim claimed he had no memory of what he said.
Judge Tinney said Harrington told the man not to talk to him, and the victim turned away and “didn’t have anything to do with” the accused.
There was nothing said to suggest Harrington’s later attack by the fire.
Judge Tinney found the assault was “out of character” but that Harrington was not remorseful.
“You should be ashamed of yourself for your conduct,” Judge Tinney said. “You’re not.”
Harrington had unsuccessfully argued his innocence during his trial, that he’d been attacked by the victim who was injured in an “unfortunate accident”.
The judge found that jailing Harrington – his children’s primary sole carer and sole bread-winner – would not cause “exceptional” family hardship.
‘It’s not that unusual for the imprisonment of a father or mother to have a deep impact financially and emotionally.”
Harrington was jailed for nine months, followed by a 15-month supervised community corrections order.
The order included 100 hours of unpaid work as well as alcohol counselling and possibly an anger management course.
