Three sentenced for ‘bullying’ assaults

Press, 10 July 1985, Page 4

Three sentenced for ‘bullying’ assaults

A man, a youth, and a young woman were sentenced in the District Court yesterday for what Judge Paterson termed a misguided, bullying punishment exercise. They were involved in assaulting two youths, aged 14, in the youths’ own homes in Hornby on Sunday afternoon, January 6.

Those sentenced are Michael Richard John Davis, aged 25, unemployed (Dr W. G. G. A. Young); Shane Douglas Tranter, aged 17, a factory hand (Mr G. J. Venning); and Debbie Ann Tranter, aged 20, a masseuse (Dr Young). Each was charged with assaulting one youth. The two Tranters were also charged with assaulting the other youth, and Davis with assaulting this youth with intent to injure him. The three were due to face jury trial on the charges last month but pleaded guilty to the offences before the trial was to begin. Davis was sentenced to five months periodic detention. Shane Tranter was fined $250 on each charge of assaulting, $lOO of each fine to be paid to the complainant concerned. Debbie Tranter was ordered to come up for sentence within a year if called upon, and to pay $125 on each charge towards the cost of prosecution. Defence counsel, in their submissions in mitigation of penalty, related a domestic background to the assaults,

including an earlier assault on Debbie Tranter and Shane Tranter’s belief that the two complainants had earlier assaulted his girlfriend. Dr Young said on behalf of Davis that the assault with intent to injure lacked some of the aggravating features of most charges of this nature. No weapon was used. Davis was ashamed at what had happened and had expressed his regret for the incident. Debbie Tranter’s involvement was entirely peripheral as a party to the offences. She had driven the car simply because Davis was too drunk to drive it. She had told the police she had “switched off’ after driving to the complainants’ houses.' Mr Venning said that Shane Tranter denied physically assaulting the complainants, and asked that he be sentenced as having been a party to the assaults. Tranter had contended that what had begun as a “man-to-man sorting things

out” had got completely out of hand. The Judge said that the incident was completely unacceptable and disgraceful, and was a misguided and bullying punishment exercise. He accepted that the three defendants regretted their involvement, after looking at things in retrospect and with calm emotions. ’ The Judge said that Davis would be left in the com- ■ munity, although this offender knew full well he had been considered for a prison. sentence. The term of periodic detention was also imposed for offences of cultivating and possessing can-' nabis. Dr Young said the . amounts involved werefs small and consistent with;? personal use only. He accepted that Tranter : was a party to the assaults, the Judge said. L How-V ever, ‘group offending was often much more forceful than offences committedsingly. .■ ■ He said Debbie Tranter also was a party to the two common assaults.