Vandal says pouring beer on Cenotaph was honouring pop, court told
A MAN who poured beer and left smokes on a war memorial before dancing a jig says he was honouring his Digger grandfather, a court has heard today. Gregory Akerstrom pleaded guilty to defacing the Martin Place Cenotaph.
NSW
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A MAN who poured beer and left smokes on a war memorial before dancing a jig says he was honouring his Digger grandfather, a court has heard today.
Gregory Akerstrom appeared in the Downing Centre Local Court and pleaded guilty to defacing the Martin Place Cenotaph after a night of heavy boozing on August 9.
The 43-year-old was walking past when he decided to put a cigarette lighter on the statue’s arm, flowers from a wreath in its hands and a cigarette in its rifle before pouring beer on its feet and dancing.
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Police found him heavily intoxicated nearby and arrested him. He was charged with committing an offensive act in or on a war memorial and wilfully damaging or defacing a protected place.
In court, Akerstrom’s defence lawyer argued his actions were a misguided attempt in paying tribute to his late grandfather, a WWI veteran who served as a mounted soldier in the famous Light Horse brigade.
“He was simply showing his interpretation of respect … he says he was doing this when he was thinking of his grandad,” the duty lawyer said.
“Clearly though it’s misguided.”
The court was told Akerstrom had a limited criminal history, suffers from schizophrenia and was on a disability support pension.
In handing down her judgment, Magistrate Katherine Thompson accepted Akerstrom may not have realised what he was doing, but said defacing a war memorial was “a very serious affront to the dignity of those served”.
“I accept he did not have that in the forefront of his mind,” she said.
Akerstrom was convicted and fined $300.
Outside court, he told reporters he did not mean to cause any offence to Australia’s war veterans.
“No, none at all,” he said.