Doyalson party: Hayden Champion sentenced over assault, affray

A man assaulted a woman who threatened to send his girlfriend videos of them kissing at a party. It led to a wild fight at the party, which culminated in him getting stabbed, a court heard.

A young man has vowed to stay away from “alcohol and bad friends” after he assaulted a woman in a bathroom sparking a wild melee at a party before she allegedly stabbed him in the shoulder and thigh.

Hayden Champion, 24, of Hamlyn Terrace, faced Gosford District Court on Friday after pleading guilty to one count of common assault and two counts of affray.

The court heard he had served 12 months jail for assault occasioning actual bodily harm and a police pursuit and had been on parole for about six weeks when he and a mate attended a party at Basford Rd, Doyalson North, on February 13.

At the party he kissed a young woman he’d met a couple of times before in a shed before the pair moved to a bathroom where the women filmed them kissing on her phone.

Giving evidence at his sentencing, Champion said he reacted badly when he tried to get the phone off her.

“She threatened to send the videos to my girlfriend,” he said.

“I acted poorly, it started a chain reaction of events. If I didn’t do that, none of it would have happened. I look down on guys who hit girls and I’ve done that now.

“My actions in that bathroom nearly cost me my life.”

An agreed set of facts states Champion threw her around a bit and punched the woman with both hands to the head before someone came into the bathroom and asked “what the f. k is going on?”.

The woman ran from the bathroom about 9.15pm and told others at the party “Hayden just f. king bashed me in the bathroom”.

Champion assaulted a woman after kissing her at a party at Basford Rd, Doyalson North. Picture: Google

Champion and his mate were set upon in the driveway where several fights broke out and Champion grabbed a woman by the hair, who he thought was trying to attack his mate but it turned out to be his mate’s sister.

Champion told the court he had never met his mate’s sister before and “felt bad” because after he dragged her to the ground other people ran in and began punching and kicking her.

During the wild brawl Champion punched the young woman he had kissed earlier twice in the face before a number of people piled into a car — including the young woman — and fled the scene.

The car pulled over at the Shell service station on the Pacific Highway at Doyalson where Champion and his mate started arguing about him assaulting the young woman, who his mate had a romantic interest in.

Champion dragged his mate out of the car and they started punching each other with the fight spilling out onto the highway.

Champion and his mate started brawling at the Shell Service Station before spilling out onto the Pacific Highway. Picture: Google

The young woman tried to separate them before she allegedly stabbed Champion in the shoulder and the back of his thigh.

Champion knocked her to the ground and “stomped on her”.

“(She) later said to police she honestly cannot remember when she stabbed the offender,” the facts state.

“(She) said she thinks she maybe snapped, ‘cause that’s the second time the offender had bashed her’. (She) said she stabbed the offender out of anger for bashing her twice.”

Champion suffered significant blood loss and was barely conscious when he was picked up and taken to hospital.

He underwent a blood transfusion and surgery to “explore, clean and close” a 5-6cm stab wound over the left shoulder blade and a 2-3cm stab wound to the right thigh.

Champion told the court he had a job in construction waiting for him when he got out and wanted to “start a new chapter”.

Champion was sentenced at Gosford District Court on Friday. (AAP Image/Sue Graham)

He said he had apologised to his mate and asked him to pass on a message to his sister but had not spoken to the other young woman.

“Being stabbed was a turning point,” he told the court.

“Alcohol and bad friends ... I want to stay away from both of them.”

Judge Tanya Bright said while she accepted the “shock of being stabbed” could be a circuit breaker for his further offending, the fact he had been out of jail for only six weeks and on parole for a similar violent offence at the time meant he could not be released on Friday.

Instead she sentenced him to 20 months jail, with a non-parole period, commencing at the end of his initial parole in April.

With time already served he will be eligible for release on February 15, 2022.

The young woman, of Hamlyn Terrace, was later charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

She is yet to enter a plea and remains before the Local Court.