Benjamin Thompson sentenced for night time stabbing of two men in Helensburgh

A court heard a young offender was under the severe influence of drugs and alcohol when he unleashed a terrifying attack on two males including one he called his ‘best friend’.

The shocking offending occurred in the northern Illawarra township of Helensburgh. Picture: Google Maps

A young man who unleashed a drug-fuelled attack on two men, including one he described as a “best friend”, in February, 2022, will be behind bars until at least September next year.

Benjamin Thompson, 20, was sentenced in Wollongong District Court on Monday after previously pleading guilty to wounding with the intention of causing grievous bodily harm, using an offensive weapon to commit an indictable offence and reckless wounding.

Judge Chris O‘Brien sentenced Thompson to four years and six months in jail with a non-parole period of two years and three months.

The judge took into consideration Thompson‘s “quasi custody” during rehabilitation and backdated the sentencing to June, last year, meaning he could be eligible for parole in 18 months time.

The court heard one night in February, last year, Thompson had a heated messaging exchange with one of the victim’s where he called him a “f----t c--t” and arranged to meet him for a fight.

The pair met at Helensburgh Cemetery at midnight where Thompson struck the victim in the head with a tyre iron before running away.

About 1am, Thompson was yelling outside a residence on Merrigong Pl, Helensburgh, armed with a kitchen knife and a metal rod which he used to smash the windows of an Alfa Romeo which belonged to one of the victims.

The court had previously been shown mobile phone footage of the alarming incident where Thompson could be seen waving an iron bar.

Benjamin Thompson was sentenced in Wollongong District Court on Monday.

“Come here little f----t c--t,” Thompson could be heard in the video.

“I’m the hero in this street. You’re dead meat paedophile c--t. I didn’t rape him when he was a kid.”

Thompson can also be heard threatening to stab the victims and cut their heads off.

Both victims, one aged 25 and the other aged 40, suffered serious injuries with the former requiring surgery at Wollongong Hospital for an eight centimetre stab wound to his chest.

The 40-year-old was taken to St George Hospital with a life-threatening stab wound to his chest which narrowly missed his heart, but injured his spleen and lung.

The court heard from Thompson prior to the judge handing down his sentence with the young offender apologising for “all the pain and drama” he had caused.

“They did not deserve that and I haven't been the same since,” Thompson said, adding he was in a ”highly drug-affected state” and intoxicated at the time of the attacks.

Thompson also testified that he was “not homophobic in any way”.