Ogmore motorcyclist attacker Aaron Frederick Harold Kuhn loses appeal
A man who assaulted a motorcyclist, causing life-changing injuries, has argued against a jury’s guilty verdict and his sentence.
Police & Courts
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A Central Queensland father who led an attack of a ‘lunatic’ drugged-up motorcyclist has failed in an appeal against his conviction and sentence.
Aaron Frederick Harold Kuhn, 52, and his son, Jak Alan Kuhn, 20, were sentenced on December 2, 2021, in Rockhampton District Court after Kuhn senior was found guilty of malicious intent to cause grievous bodily harm and Kuhn junior was found guilty of causing grievous bodily harm.
They had both entered pleas of not guilty on November 29 to malicious intent to cause grievous bodily harm in relation to an assault on Craig Douglas Chicken on May 5, 2020, at Ogmore – 150kms north of Rockhampton.
Mr Chicken, 42, sustained very serious head injuries which resulted in him being flown to Brisbane for surgery and spending 12 weeks in a brain rehabilitation unit.
He now has to take anti-seizure medication for the rest of his life.
In a Court of Appeal decision handed down on December 6, 2022, Justice Peter Applegarth wrote that Kuhn senior used a baseball bat and his fists to beat Mr Chicken.
“The victim sustained a fractured skull, a traumatic brain injury and lacerations from the skull fracture that, if left untreated, would have caused his death,” Justice Applegarth wrote.
Kuhn’s defence team of barrister Ross Lo Monaco and Maree Willey had argued the attack on Mr Chicken was in self-defence.
During the trial, the jury heard Kuhn senior told a detective he was about to catch his horse to go mustering when he heard a motorbike “roaring down” the road, around 100km/h.
He said his son noted the bike had gone suddenly quiet and raised concerns the rider had crashed.
The Kuhns claimed that when they arrived, Mr Chicken, who they had never met before, yelled obscenities at them and then tried to land a punch through the window of a car, but missed.
Kuhn senior said he then got out of the vehicle and Mr Chicken punched him again.
He said he then punched Mr Chicken and the pair scuffled on the ground before the group separated and left the scene.
However, during sentencing, Judge Paul Smith said: “it was unlikely they were concerned about his welfare” because of Kuhn senior’s actions at the bridge.
It was heard Kuhn senior got out of the ute and asked Mr Chicken if there was a problem.
Mr Chicken, who has gaps in his memory as a result of his brain injury, recalled replying “no mate. Is there one?”
Kuhn senior punched Mr Chicken in the head, causing him to drop to the ground and he was trying to pick himself up when the assault continued.
Kuhn senior pushed Mr Chicken’s head against the rear of one of the utes, causing blood to “spurt” from his temple.
Kuhn senior then punched Mr Chicken five more times.
The Kuhns then alleged Mr Chicken had turned up to their street three times that afternoon, threatening to kill them and burn their houses down.
Kuhn junior said after that, he and his father decided to feed the family’s goats at his grandmother’s house.
He said they were on their way there when Mr Chicken came out onto the road with a bat.
Kuhn junior said his father had to swerve to miss Mr Chicken who was in the middle of the road.
However, Judge Smith ruled Mr Chicken had approached the vehicle after having jumped out of its path and then hit the vehicle with the bat.
The father and son attacked Mr Chicken, who tried to fight back, with Kuhn junior armed with a chain and Kuhn senior grabbing the baseball bat off Mr Chicken at some point.
Justice Applegarth wrote Kuhn senior argued in his appeal of the conviction and sentence that Judge Smith should have added in his direction to the jury after they had heard the evidence, that before he could be convicted of malicious act with intent, the jury had to exclude “lesser alternative intents” beyond a reasonable doubt.
“This argument is unpersuasive,” Justice Applegarth wrote.
“Intent was not a significant issue.
“The evidence and the argument before the jury (including the appellant’s statements to police) did not suggest the possibility that he only intended to inflict some lesser harm or had no intent at all.
“There was a factual issue about whether the appellant hit the complainant in the head with the baseball bat, something the appellant denied in his interview with police.
“But even in the unlikely event that the fractured skull was caused by the appellant’s fist, rather than the baseball bat, significant force would have been required to cause the injuries.”
He wrote the injuries sustained in the attack, the fact Mr Chicken was on the ground when Kuhn senior used the baseball bat and the nature of injuries the victim sustained indicated Kuhn senior intended to cause very serious injuries.
“The forensic choice of defence counsel to concentrate on self-defence rather than intent is understandable,” Justice Applegarth wrote.
“His client’s use of a baseball bat in a prolonged bashing in which the complainant sustained a fractured skull made it hard for defence counsel to nominate some lesser intent.”
Judge Smith had sentenced Aaron Kuhn to 7.5 years’ prison and declared him a serious violent offender, which requires defendants to serve at least 80 per cent of their sentence before being eligible for parole.
He sentenced Jak Kuhn to four years’ prison, suspended after serving 20 months and operational for four years.
Justice Applegarth, supported by Justice Philip Morrison and Justice Peter Flanagan, dismissed Kuhn senior’s appeal.
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