Aaron Northey: Currans Hill man jailed for attack on 16yo near Mount Annan Leisure Centre
A man who bashed a 16-year-old school student – including unleashing a number of kicks to the head – in a vicious group attack livestreamed on Instagram told police officers he “f**ked up”.
Macarthur
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A man who bashed a 16-year-old school student – including unleashing a number of kicks to the head – in a vicious group attack livestreamed on Instagram told police officers he “f**ked up” when he handed himself in six days later.
Aaron Northey, 18, fronted Picton Local Court for sentencing after he pleaded guilty to affray, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and driving while unlicensed.
About 3.20pm on June 8, the victim got off a bus near the Mt Annan Leisure Centre when he saw three people walking towards him.
One turned to the victim and said, “do you think this is all sweet?” before he allegedly punched the victim in the face. The boy tried to escape, but the same man allegedly pushed him up the stairs and punched more than 70 times.
At this point, Northey drove an unregistered trail bike across the footbridge from Currans Hill to the assault and kicked the victim numerous times in the head before striking him with multiple punches.
Witnesses ran towards Northey and the other males screaming for them to stop, but Northey turned around and said: “it is none of your business”.
This momentary distraction allowed the victim to run away and jump into a stranger’s car to ask for help.
Witnesses observed Northey say the victim ‘deserved everything he got” when talking to the other males after the attack.
The victim attended Campbelltown Hospital that night with a number of facial injuries, including a laceration to his forehead, evidence of bleeding to both nostrils, and bruising to the rim of his ear.
A few days after the violent assault, Camden detectives saw it was live-streamed to an Instagram page and shared on Snapchat and TikTok.
On June 14, Northey handed himself in and told officers the victim said, “he was going to rape my mum, so I gave him a left and right, just two quick hits. He never hit me. I didn’t mean it to kick off … I f**ked up”.
At court on Wednesday, Northey’s lawyer Carolyn Shiels said her client had suffered from serious anxiety and had a cannabis problem. But, she said, he was committed to rehabilitation with the help of his extremely supportive parents.
Magistrate David Degnan blasted the “stupidity and gall” of the assault, including the one who live-streamed it.
“It staggers me, and it continues to stagger the community that young men be involved in such levels of violence without any thought as to the consequence of such a brutal attack, particularly upon a child,” he said.
“The defendant was the adult here. It’s quite clear the defendant entered the assault and kicked the victim to the head, which is a particularly vulnerable part of the body.”
Northey was also sentenced at the same time for unrelated matters, including being carried in conveyance taken without consent, two counts of entering a vehicle or boat without consent, larceny and three counts of dishonestly obtaining property by deception.
He was convicted on all charges and jailed for 26 months with a non-parole period of 15 months. He will be eligible for parole in September 2024.
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