RACIST TIRADE: Man spits in woman’s face, hoses another
Magistrate calls out defendant’s “selective memory” and describes his recollection of events as “opportunistic and self serving”.
Fraser Coast
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First he unleashed a racist tirade on one woman.
Then he spat in the face of another when they tried to make him leave their property.
Nathan Daniel Town, 39, pleaded guilty in Maryborough Magistrates Court to two counts of common assault and one count of wilful damage.
The court heard on May 15 last year, Town had been using a neighbour's hose in John St, Maryborough, to wash his face after getting something in his eyes.
It was about 9.30pm and one of the women heard the noise and asked Town to leave.
He told the woman to "f**k off", then sprayed her with the hose.
The commotion woke the other woman, who also came outside.
Both women asked him to leave.
Town responded with the words "black s**t, black m**l.
He then kicked over some pot plants.
He approached one of the women with raised fists, then struck out and missed.
Town then spat on the woman's face and body, the court heard.
The woman punched him twice, causing him to fall on the concrete.
He then damaged a window and door when the women went back inside the home.
When police attended, Town was "irrational and agitated", the court heard.
He was taken to hospital with a suspected head fracture.
Town had written a letter to the court, but Magistrate Kurt Fowler said it didn't reach the level of expressing remorse for the incident.
He said Town's claim of having no recollection of events did not seem to be the case.
"Your memory seems to be selective," he said, describing the man's recollections as "opportunistic and self serving".
Defence lawyer Leon Casey said his client had a limited education and suffered from bipolar disorder, anxiety and depression.
Town had not realised the incompatibility of combining drinking with his medication, Mr Casey said.
Mr Casey described the offending as "low level", with no long term harm to the victims.
But Magistrate Fowler rejected that.
"I fundamentally disagree that spitting in someone's face is at the lower end of offending," he said.
Town was sentenced to 15 months' probation and convictions were recorded.