Wollongong Centrelink: Jason Cutmore guilty of coughing in security guard’s face

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic an Illawarra man deliberately coughed on a Centrelink security guard in Wollongong. Now it has been revealed what prompted the dispute.

Jason Cutmore arrives at Wollongong Court on November 18. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Simon Bullard

A 48-year-old Illawarra man has been found guilty of coughing in the face of a Centrelink security guard at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, after a heated confrontation over mask-wearing at the front of the building.

Jason Cutmore was found guilty of common assault by Magistrate Janine Lacy following a hearing at Wollongong Local Court on Wednesday, despite denying he “aggressively” coughed in the face of a security guard who asked him to leave the premises on April 27.

In giving evidence on Wednesday, security guard Dimitiros Andrikopoulos told the court Cutmore was asked to leave the centre on Burelli Street after he became aggressive with another security guard.

Jason Cutmore. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Simon Bullard

Mr Andrikopoulos said Cutmore became aggressive after his colleague, who was new on the job, asked him to remove a face covering when entering the building, unaware that face coverings were permitted in the building due to coronavirus.

“He was going on about how he shouldn’t have been stopped at the door,” he said.

“I said ‘you need to leave Jason’ and he started yelling profanities at us from a distance, about 5 to 10 metres away.”

Mr Andrikopoulos told the court Cutmore walked away before walking back toward him and “asking him to fight”.

“He was standing there, hands by his side, with clenched fists getting ready to go,” he said.

“He walked over to me and I thought he was going to hit me, but he came nose-to-nose with me and coughed in my face.

“It (the cough) was really coarse and loud, it sounded forced, really harsh and really loud.”

He said saliva flew across his face, “freaking him out” because of the pandemic. He told the court he then took Cutmore in a headlock and apprehended him while they waited for police.

Mr Andrikopoulos’s account of the incident was backed up by another security guard who worked on a different floor of the building.

Nathan Campbell told the court he was getting a coffee in the lobby of the Burelli Street building when he saw Cutmore speaking to Mr Andrikopoulos, saying it “didn’t look to be going very well”.

“At first they were about a metre apart, by the end (of the confrontation) they were really close, less than 5cm,” he said. “Then he opened his mouth to cough.”

Cutmore will return to court for sentencing next week. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Simon Bullard.

Giving his account in court on Wednesday, Cutmore denied asking Mr Andrikopoulos to fight or coughing in his face, saying he was coughing into his arm.

“I smoke a lot of cigarettes, it was a dry smoker’s cough,” he said. “It just came up, I meant to turn away.”

He did however admit he was “insulted” after being asked to remove his mask, and tried to tell the security guard “how to do his job”.

In handing down her verdict, Magistrate Lacy said both Mr Campbell and Mr Andrikopoulos gave “honest and direct” evidence.

“I’m satisfied by the version of the complainant, that Mr Cutmore coughed deliberately in his face and in doing so resulted in saliva on his face,” she said.

Cutmore will be sentenced next week.