Periodic detention for ‘disgusting act’

Press, 27 February 1981, Page 5

Periodic detention for ‘disgusting act’

.. A young man, who had in;<’2C' itly assaulted a mother Jof six children and urinated !" her in an is lated area by the ail-ty tracks st Addington, was sentenced to five months non-residential T "•lodic detention by Mr JJustice Ongley in the High •‘Court yesterday. ( Andrew Norman Leonard, |aged 23, unemployed, pload.,eguilty to the ' charge of ;ind- ’ently assaulting the Jwoman, aged 37, last week {before .s trial began on a .chw-q of raping her. The (jury which found him not Ig-Alty on the charge of rape .after deliberating for 51 hours was not aware tl :.t he ‘i.ad admitted the indecent la.sault charge. , The probation officer 'r-commended a communitybased ' itence for Leonard. [Both his I nour and defence {counsel referred to Leonard’s /‘disgusting acts.” ; Evidence was given at the Taking of depositions in the District Court that on July ;12, 19£"' the accu d ./ho bad known the woman previously, had njcVo-t |, er U p ‘at the Lion Tavern in Lincoln Road. He took her in a van to an isolated r.ea by 'the Car. .erbw N.'.. 'Company, Ltd’s grainstore. .He told the woman that he •wanted to talk to her. , The man gave evidence that Leonard tried to drag her into the back of the van. 'She wa~ punched abc./. the ■head and face as he held her by the hair. L .ard said that he wanted to h ve sex with her but she refused, the woman said. She tried to calm him down but he went berserk.

I At one stage she ma agedi [to get out. ■ the van and', [rar. towards the L : ~n Tavern' (but Leonard chased her,' [dive-tackled her and threwi {her to th? ground. i Leonard dragg, '. her! around a corner, the woman! said. She w- frightened and;! s'-rea. ig. He threatened to; cut her throat. After performing certain! acts on her Leonard urinated' on her as she lay on her; back on the ground, the; '■'Oman said. Two security guards who! arrived on the scene while! doing a routine check off ct . . prem; _s, saw the! couple struggling on the! ground. Leonard had his! . .ts down and the i.cmani was crying, according to the; evidence. ater the same eve. ' g! Leonard returned to tie Red! Lion Tavern where he was chased by friends of the woman into a pizza parlour. He grabbed a meat cleaver and fl- . into the back of the shop wh e he was found by the police. Mr M. J. Glue, for Leonard, said that his client acknowledged that he was' an alcoholic and wanted to; take treatment. He had been in trouble because of liquor from an early age. At his trial the previous week, Leonard had been acquitted on the more serious charge of rape. Evidence had been given that he had been drinking and smoking cannabis before committing the offence to which he pleaded guilty. “I must concede that the indecent assault was a disgusting act,” Mr Glue said. I

li The meeting with the I; woman had begun on aj t; friendly basis but then there , was a dispute and Leonard] 'became very angry. The; .woman had some association! '[with the Black Power Gang. I k Leonard was a person of! {some intelligence, said Mr; ;Glue. His employment! record was somewhat erratic ; but he worked well while on I'periodic detention. Since the ’[offence he had married the qgirl with whom he had been Jiving in a de facto relation>l ship. J Mr Glue submitted that ’I the probation officer’s I recommendation for a com- ' munity-based sentence was lithe appropriate penalty. l : His Honour said that Leo‘inard had been in quite a lot I of trouble but mostly for of- ; fences of a nuisance value '[rather than anything else. ! Unless he put a stop to his indulgence in liquor and drugs it would lead him into further trouble. ' On the whole the probation officer’s report was favourable to Leonard and that was what induced him not to send Leonard to pris[!on. which would be the nor- ' mal course for such an of!l fence. “The assault was a brutal ! one and culminated in a dis- .: gusting act,” his Honour ; said. On its own it would have II merited imprisonment but ■ i because of the probation re- . | port and in the hope that I [Leonard would grapple with i his drinking problem he was [[persuaded to allow him to | remain at large, said his I Honour.