Rosaleigh Perry, Josh Moekotte: Coupe admit to ‘disgraceful’ Thirroul pub fight

A hairdresser and her boyfriend have been slammed by a magistrate for their ‘disgraceful’ behaviour during a bar fight.

A Helensburgh hairdresser and her boyfriend have been reprimanded for an “appalling” bar fight during a Christmas party.

Josh Moekotte and his girlfriend Rosaleigh Perry landed themselves in the hands of the law for the first time on December 19, 2020, after getting into a violent fight with an ex-business partner at Ryan’s Hotel in Thirroul following a Christmas work luncheon.

The pair each pleaded guilty to a charge of affray on Tuesday, and were sentenced by Magistrate Gabriel Flemming, who labelled their behaviour as “disgraceful”.

“One of you was throwing a bottle and one was punching, it’s disgraceful, you’d be living under a rock if you didn’t understand the community concern over violence at licensed premises,” she said.

Rosaleigh Perry and Josh Moekotte at Wollongong Court on February 9. 

“But, I will treat this as an aberration – a bad decision in the moment.”

In handing down her sentence, Magistrate Flemming noted the pair had clean criminal records, but said she had to record a criminal conviction for the both of them, noting the fight involved a punch to the face and the throwing of a glass beer bottle.

She slapped each of them with a $1000 fine, and placed them both on 12-month community corrections orders.

The court heard the fight broke out while the pair were drunk, and was sparked by the arrival of Perry’s ex-colleague.

Rosaleigh Perry and Josh Moekotte. 

It’s alleged the man sat the end of the table occupied by Perry, Moekotte and their group before things became heated.

The victim tried to walk away from the venue when one of the couple’s friends approached him.

The victim pushed the man to the ground, before Perry ran at him and slapped him on the back of the neck. The man pushed Perry away, prompting Moekotte to enter the fight and punch the man in the jaw.

Everyone involved in the scuffle landed on the floor, however Moekotte quickly gained his footing and put the victim in a headlock.

Once security intervened, the court heard Perry picked up a glass bottle and chucked it at the victim, cutting his head and causing him to bleed.

Two days later Moekotte was charged with affray admitting to police he was involved in the fight, but did not know the victim.

Perry was spoken to on December 31 at the barber shop she works at, where she told police she was drunk, and that she previously worked with the victim, but that they ended on “bad terms”.

In court on Tuesday, The couple’s defence lawyer Graeme Morrison told the court alcohol “wasn’t an issue” for the pair and that they had remorse over what happened.