Patron glassed for threatening to rape father of four's family member

A father of four smashed a bottle of Jack Daniels into a club patron’s face when the latter made “disturbing” comments about one of his family members.

On Monday (13 September), the ACT Magistrates Court heard the victim had threatened to rape a member of Benjamin Thomas Kenworthy’s family shortly before Kenworthy glassed him.

Court documents show the two began to argue at the Tuggeranong Vikings Club in Greenway very early in the morning of 15 August 2020.

The situation escalated when Kenworthy moved so close to the man that their faces were almost touching.

He then swung a bottle of Jack Daniels into the man’s face, leaving him bleeding with a cut to his nose. Police arrived to find Kenworthy with security.

“He got a bit mouthy, and I threw my drink on him, and I got a bit aggressive. You can watch the footage; I did not try to hurt him properly, I threw my drink on him,” he told them.

Defence lawyer Jacob Robertson of JDR Law said about 10 minutes before the glassing, the victim had told Kenworthy that he was going to rape one of his family members.

Mr Robertson said comments of “such a vulgar nature” were “likely to receive a response”. His client’s actions were “impulsive” and did involve a “high degree of provocation”, he said.

He also said the 34-year-old had intended to throw his drink onto his victim, but he hit the victim on the nose while doing so.

The prosecutor conceded the victim had made “disparaging and provocative remarks” to Kenworthy, who used to install kitchens, showers and bathrooms before losing his job in the COVID-19 crisis.

However, she noted the attack still involved a glassing to a vulnerable area of the body – the man’s face.

Magistrate Beth Campbell accepted the concessions made by the prosecution and noted the “disturbing” comments made by the victim.

“This does seem to be not your typical example of a glassing, as we all refer to it in court,” she said.

However, she still said, “the defendant should not have acted in the way he did”.

Kenworthy pleaded guilty to a charge of assault. He was sentenced to a 12-month good behaviour order and fined $1500.