Man sentenced for assault already served 530 days

A man who faced Cairns District Court on assault charges has already spent 530 days in remand and the judge sentencing him said he could have avoided jail if he had received bail in 2020.

A CAIRNS judge has asked the defence team of a man who has spent 530 days on remand why no application was made for their client’s bail in 2020 after he was arrested when aged 18 years.

In Cairns District Court on Monday, before Judge Deborah Richards sentenced Shelton Cayden Gilbert, on two assault charges which occurred on September 26, 2020, she asked defence barrister Tim Grau to explain – why there has been no request for bail after Gilbert, now aged 20, was arrested and charged with assault and strangulation of his then 37-year-old stepmother in Kowanyama, 600km northwest of Cairns.

“If I had sentenced him as an 18-year-old, I would not have sent him to jail, I would have given him probation with conviction,” Judge Richards said.

Shelton Cayden Gilbert was sentenced on two assault charges at Cairns District Court on March 14.

Mr Grau told the court he did not know as he had only recently taken on the client.

Crown prosecutor Christian Peters described Gilbert’s assault of his stepmother which resulted from an argument over her not sharing wine with him.

“He punched her twice in the face,” Mr Peters said.

“The defendant grabbed the complainant around the neck with both hands and applied pressure to both sides of the neck, she could not breathe or call for help and tried to push him away, she thought she was going to die.”

Gilbert pleaded guilty to each charge.

In her summing up, while Judge Richards showed empathy for Gilbert for spending so long in remand, she also told him that his actions were unacceptable.

“I do not think you should have spent so long in custody.” she said.

“But I hope at least it has taught you not to do anything violent to anyone.

“Strangling someone is really serious.

“Given you were only 18 with no previous, you pleaded guilty and it happened on one evening, not a continuing number of assaults over time, it is appropriate to order a short period of imprisonment because of the time you spent in custody.”

Judge Richards sentenced Gilbert to six months imprisonment and took into account pre-sentence custody with 183 days he had already served.

Originally published as Man sentenced for assault already served 530 days