Alexander Strong to be sentenced for vicious armed attack against his father

A terminally ill father has been left unable to write, use cutlery or even wipe his own backside after his son almost severed his finger with a homemade weapon, a court has heard.

A man who attacked his terminally ill father with a shiv allegedly causing permanent damage, will have a three month wait while the court decides his fate.

Armed with a homemade shiv and a pole, Alexander Strong, 27, told his estranged father “you’re f*****” when he confronted the man after an argument had broken out.

A police prosecutor told the Mount Gambier Magistrates court the victim suffered a severe injury to his left hand and finger and there were initial fears he would lose it permanently.

A terminally ill man who was violently attacked by his son fears he may have been permanently disabled after being struck with a metal pole. Picture: File

“The defendant swung the pole towards one of the victim’s hand - the victim states the laceration was very deep and almost cut his finger off,” she said.

“He stated that when he attended the Mount Gambier Hospital it was not known whether or not he would be able to keep his finger.”

Strong pleaded guilty on Thursday to carry an offensive weapon, aggravated assault that causes harm-with a weapon, possess prescription drug (not being drug of dependence) and resist police.

He was arrested on October 12 last year, on Sturt St, Mount Gambier following the October 4 attack.

In a victim impact statement read out by a police prosecutor, the court heard the accused had left his victim with lasting fears his son’s friends would “finish up what Alex started”.

“The day in question is one of the most stressful and heartbreaking tragedies that I have ever endured,” the victim said.

“For the first time in my life I thought I was going to die.

“I’m paranoid about household security to the degree that I check the doors five or six times a day.”

The victim further alleged he was left permanently disabled.

“Alex’s attack prevents me from writing, using a knife and fork (and) wiping my own behind,” the victim said.

The court heard the accused’s biological father, who is now terminally ill, had no contact with his son from the time he was three.

Strong reached out to his biological father, who attacked him when they first met, the court heard.

Magistrate Koula Kossiavelos aid she would have to weigh up the victim’s impact statement against the pre-sentence report.

“He had no contact with his father until he was 20 – then his father attacked him on his first encounter – what father turns around and does what he did?” Ms Kossiavelos said.

A police prosecutor told the court she could not deny the victim had a “lengthy criminal history of his own”.

Ms Kossiavelos said she was unable to sentence the accused as she needed to see further medical reports that supported the victim’s allegations about “residual disability” from the attack.

“This happens a lot of times with victims – they talk about residual disability that may not be correct and may not be substantiated,” she said.

Strong, who has been in custody for six months, was released on supervised bail to his mother’s Evanston Gardens home.

The Mount Gambier man will front court in August for sentencing.