Christmas party drunk who bashed security guard avoids jail, despite his similar violence

Even though a violent drunk had committed two near-identical crimes, he was spared being sent to prison over bashing a security guard in a nightclub after a Christmas party.

On Wednesday (24 January), Magistrate Jane Campbell told 28-year-old Ati Tuivasa Lalofua Ati that the protection of the community was important when it came to sentencing considerations for him, seeing as he “goes out and assaults people if he gets drunk”.

She said the security guard had seen him and another person appearing to act aggressively towards each other when they had been in the Braddon nightclub Hopscotch on 22 December 2022 and had asked him to leave.

Without provocation, the intoxicated Tuivasa Lalofua Ati punched him in the face, causing his tooth to penetrate all the way through his lip and knocking him to the ground.

Tuivasa Lalofua Ati then kept trying to punch him while he was attempting to get back up until the attacker was restrained by friends and pulled away.

Magistrate Campbell said the security guard was “merely doing his job” and was met with a serious assault.

Prosecutor Estelle Narouz told the ACT Magistrates Court that a full-time jail sentence was the only appropriate outcome as it was a serious example of this type of offending, both on its own and in the context of his criminal history.

In the last few years, Tuivasa Lalofua Ati had committed almost-identical offences and been convicted of affray and assault, for which he was handed a suspended sentence and an intensive corrections order (ICO), a community-based sentence.

Magistrate Campbell said he had complied unsatisfactorily with his ICO and it was cancelled, resulting in him spending over a month behind bars.

Ms Narouz argued this was not only repetitive violent behaviour but behaviour that posed a significant risk to members of the community.

Sam Brown from Legal Aid said Tuivasa Lalofua Ati had been drinking at a Christmas party that night. Also, he said his client had experienced significant childhood trauma and used alcohol as a coping mechanism.

The court heard the construction worker had written a letter expressing remorse.

Magistrate Campbell ultimately said as he had not committed any other offences over the last year, he had demonstrated he had been of good behaviour, “which does give me some hope”.

His rehabilitation was the best protection for the community, and jail would not provide him with any great benefit, she said, so it was better he be required to engage with services to address his issues.

Tuivasa Lalofua Ati pleaded guilty to and was convicted on a charge of assault. He was sentenced to seven months’ jail to be served via an ICO, with conditions including he live under a curfew, attend counselling programs and go to a specialist behaviour program for men who use violence.

“If you breach the intensive corrections order, you go straight into jail,” the magistrate told him.