James Gregory pleads guilty at Gympie, Qld to grievous bodily harm

A Gympie man who attacked a woman in Monkland St without any provocation or reason, left her unconscious and with multiple injuries. Now he is back on the street.

A Gympie man has served jail time over a shocking and inexplicable attack on a 65-year-old woman walking along a city street.

James Gregory was caught on CCTV sprinting down Monkland St near the CBD on August 11, 2023, when he – without any apparent reason – slammed both hands directly into his victim while running, the Gympie District Court heard on Thursday.

The woman was pushed face first onto the footpath and knocked unconscious for two minutes.

Gregory and the woman were not known to each other.

Bystanders rushed to help while the 30-year-old fled the scene, the court was told.

He was arrested shortly after at Services Australia.

The court heard the woman suffered multiple injuries from the attack, including a fractured wrist, swelling to her left cheek, and short term memory loss.

James Gregory, 30 of Gympie, pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm, and a count of stealing relating to the theft of a $200 item from Gold City Computers on Christmas Eve in 2023.

She was forced to cancel an overseas trip with her husband due to her injuries

Judge Jennifer Rosengren was given no explanation as to what prompted the attack.

The court heard Gregory had no previous history of “gratuitous” street violence, no problems with alcohol or drugs and no medical records or information was tendered to the courts on his behalf.

“It’s quite worrying offending in the absence of any explanation,” Judge Rosengren said.

“Why did he go and do this to a stranger?

“How do I have any sense of comfort he’s not going to walk back out and do this again?”

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James Gregory was sentenced to two years and nine months jail, with an immediate parole release date owing to 11 months time served in presentence custody.

Judge Rosengren accepted Gregory’s guilty pleas to grievous bodily harm, and a count of stealing relating to the theft of a $200 item from Gold City Computers on Christmas Eve in 2023.

She said he had a “concerning” criminal history, which included arson and burglary in 2011.

It was entirely “good luck” he was standing in the court on an assault charge and not something far more serious.

The attack was “completely unprovoked” and Gregory “showed her no concern whatsoever”.

She sentenced him to two years and nine months jail, with an immediate parole release date owing to 11 months time served in presentence custody.