‘What’d they think was going to happen?’ Paedo basher defends breaking cellmate’s jaw

Waiting in the watch house, this man spotted a convicted child sex offender sitting opposite. He decided to take matters into his own hands.

“They put me in a cell with him – what did they think was going to happen?”

Those were the words of Leonard James Stanley, 33, after he broke another man’s jaw while in the watch-house at Hervey Bay Police Station last year.

He had realised, while sitting in the cell, he recognised the other man as a convicted child sex offender.

A brief discussion occurred between the men before Stanley punched him in the face.

Stanley pleaded guilty to one count of grievous bodily harm when he appeared before Hervey Bay District Court this week.

The court heard the other man had to have surgery after the attack.

Stanley first arrived at the watch house on June 3 last year and was placed in his own cell.

Leonard Janes Stanley, 33, broke another man's jaw while in the watch-house at Hervey Bay Police Station last year.

But later, he was joined by the other man in a holding area.

About 5.15pm, the man was seen on CCTV footage trying to get past Stanley, who was blocking the entry.

Stanley then struck the man forcefully in the mouth, causing him to fall and his torso to hit the toilet.

The man was taken to hospital in Brisbane.

The court heard Stanley had ongoing issues with drugs and violence and it was just two months into a period of parole that he had committed the offence.

The time Stanley had spent in custody was said to have been made more onerous due to COVID restrictions which had limited visitation from his family and child.

He had attended a substance abuse program while in custody, as well as a resilience course.

There were currently lengthy delays in processing parole applications, which could extend Stanley’s time in prison when he became eligible, the court was told.

Stanley was sentenced to two and a half years in prison with a parole eligibility date set for October 18, 2021.