Knife attacker at the 'last stop' before prison-time after leaving a friend with a permanent scar

A man who left his friend with a permanent scar from a “spur of the moment” attack has been sentenced.

Ryan Matthew Rory Hicks, 25, faced the ACT Supreme Court on Wednesday (5 December) to be sentenced on a charge of recklessly inflicting grievous bodily harm.

Justice Verity McWilliam said that she was “not convinced [that] long-term protection to the community would be served” by a prison sentence and that rehabilitation needed to be central to the sentence.

However, she warned Hicks that he was at “that last stop” before full-time imprisonment.

On 23 April 2024, he was with friends to drink alcohol and use drugs when a conflict broke out over his “perception” of missing cannabis.

In response, Hicks picked up a folding knife and swung at the victim’s face, cutting his face twice.

The victim was left with a 5 cm and a 10 cm cut.

“Immediately upon inflicting the wound upon the victim, the offender held him in his arms, cried for help and cried out, ‘I’m so sorry bro’,” she said.

Following the attack, the victim required medical treatment and was left with “significant permanent scarring to his face”.

Justice McWilliam said Hicks’ “sudden and unprovoked” attack targeted the face, which she described as an “inherently vulnerable” part of the body.

“The conduct was aggravated by the use of a weapon. The conduct itself was a single slash of a knife [and it was] an isolated brief attack,” she said.

In sentencing him, Justice McWilliam took into account Hicks’ “difficult upbringing and family circumstances” and said jail time would “weigh more heavily” because of his mental health diagnosis.

She said a challenge for Hicks’s rehabilitation and for the court in sentencing him appropriately was his illicit drug use.

“The biggest concern for this defendant is his drug use, which includes cannabis and methamphetamine use,” she said.

However, she noted he was seeking support services, including from a psychologist.

“Someone with his background is already in the position of being a survivor,” she said.

“He still has a lot to overcome, but he must leave the courtroom today with a self-belief that with help and hard work, he will get there.”

During the sentencing, she spoke directly to Hicks, telling him that the next months could be his “finest moment” if he committed to rehabilitation.

“I am firmly of the view that he needs support, that he needs connections with the community and that he needs to experience feeling good about himself in doing something good for others,” she said.

Hicks was convicted and handed an intensive corrections order, which will finish in September 2026. He must seek support for his mental health and drug and alcohol counselling.

He must also complete 60 hours of community service.