Father of five pleads guilty to his part in brutal assault of fellow Borallon prison inmate

A court has heard how two men, one a father-of-five, sought out and brutally assaulted a fellow inmate in a “cowardly attack” inside a large Queensland prison.

A prisoner has faced court after his “cowardly attack” on another inmate in a Queensland prison.

Mining worker Kasie Richard Clifford Rice, 33, pleaded guilty in the Ipswich District Court Friday to one count of assault occasioning bodily harm in company.

The court heard that on May 19, 2020, Rice – a father of five – and his co-accused Kotoni Fusi assaulted a fellow inmate at Borallon Correctional Centre on Ivan Lane, Borallon, near Ipswich.

The victim had been told to get out of a unit, and that “he could go the easy way or the hard way.”

The court heard the victim said no, and claimed Rice and Fusi had “set upon“ him in the hallway.

Rice initiated the attack by punching him twice in the head.

Prosecutor Matt Legrand said the man then received a “flurry of blows” from both Rice and Fusi.

He fell to the ground where the two kicked him repeatedly and stomped on his head and body.

The man sustained multiple fractures to his back, neck and nose, an injury to his spleen and a haematoma to his ear.

Kasie Richard Clifford Rice, who pleaded guilty in Ipswich Court to a brutal assault on a fellow Borallon inmate. Picture: Supplied

Mr Legrand played closed circuit television (CCTV) footage of the attack in court, and explained that Fusi’s fast response and participation indicated that it was likely planned.

He argued it was a serious example of assault occasioning bodily harm because “the attack was not only unprovoked, it was in my submission a cowardly attack”.

Lawyer Matthew Hynes said Rice had a “raging addiction” to methamphetamine since his mid-20s and had been working on his rehabilitation while in custody.

Mr Hynes said Rice’s father has moved from Townsville to Boulia to provide Rice with a “safe haven” from the drug connections he had in Townsville for when he does get out of jail.

Judge Horneman Wren sentenced Fusi to two and a half years imprisonment for the attack on March 15.

In 2015, Rice was sentenced to four years imprisonment for a home invasion in which he assaulted the new boyfriend of his former partner with a soldering iron.

He was most recently sentenced on April 3, 2020 to cumulative periods of four and three years imprisonment for multiple offences of dangerous operation of vehicles in attempts to escape police.

Rice was sentenced to two years imprisonment for the assault occasioning bodily harm in company, pushing back his existing release date of April 2, 2027 to 2029.

Rice will be eligible for parole from February 2, 2023.