Leslie Campbell: Teenager who bashed an elderly restaurateur sentenced

A judge has said prison is not the place for a teenager who bashed an elderly restaurant owner in the Illawarra last year.

A Shellharbour teenager who bashed the elderly owner of a popular Chinese restaurant while his friend filmed the attack has been spared a full-time jail sentence.

Leslie Campbell, 19, fronted Wollongong District Court on Friday charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm and stealing property.

The most egregious crime occurred in early February last year, about two weeks after Campbell had pilfered a couple of Tommy Hilfiger t-shirts from Tramps the Store in Wollongong.

The 67-year-old victim was walking home from work along the Princes Hwy in Albion Park Rail with his wife at around 7pm on a Tuesday evening when a minor who was with Campbell asked him for a cigarette.

“No, sorry,” he replied.

The victim then lit one which drew the ire of Campbell who grabbed it from his mouth and threw it on the ground.

The man and his wife crossed the road, but noticed Campbell following him.

The teenager pushed the man on the ground but delivered multiple punches to the head and upper body before kicking him in the head.

Leslie Campbell shielded his face with his jacket as he left Wollongong Courthouse. Picture: Dylan Arvela

The minor urged Campbell to grab the victim‘s darts as his wife waved her hands in a brave attempt to protect her prone on the ground.

Another minor, who was filming the incident, yelled for Campbell to ditch the scene before police arrived as witnesses came to the aid of the victim.

The man was rushed to Shellharbour Hospital with soft tissue injuries to his upper lip and swelling to his face and chin, but a CT scan the following day revealed he had suffered a bleed on the brain.

He was then admitted to Wollongong Hospital for monitoring.

Police were altered to the video being posted on social media and they recognised Campbell who was wearing the same distinctive Nike shoes he‘d worn when he had stolen the t-shirts only a few weeks earlier.

Three days after the disgraceful act, Campbell handed himself in at Lake Illawarra Command after photos of him had been shared on social media.

In court on Friday, Judge Andrew Heasler said the victim‘s injuries “could have been fatal”, however, signalled he didn’t want to incarcerate Campbell because ”in his experience” sending teenagers to prison can turn them into ”crime machines”.

Leslie Campbell avoided going to prison for his shocking attack. Picture: Dylan Arvela

“He is still an immature young man with a lot of growing up to do,” the judge said while also referencing Campbell‘s mental developmental issues.

“A full-time custodial sentence would only harm him and send him on the path [to further offending].

“If he continues to offend violently he will end up in jail … jail will not help him.”

Campbell was sentenced to a 22-month intensive corrections order and undertake anger management, receive psychological assistance and engage with Aboriginal support services.

Judge Heasler said the victim would forever be scarred from the events of that evening.

“For the rest of his life he will be weary of going out at night,” he said.

“He will be weary of you people. He shouldn‘t be afraid of young people, but if he sustains another injury like that he could die.”