Christian Spencer Fairclough sentenced for attack on 67-year-old man
A former private investigator who assaulted an older man in the middle of a busy Gold Coast street claims he was provoked by his victim. Read what happened.
Police & Courts
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A former private investigator attacked a 67-year-old who crashed into his car, later claiming he was provoked by the victim.
Christian Spencer Fairclough saw the other man reverse into his parked car on Main Beach Pde on the afternoon of November 8, 2021.
Southport Magistrates Court was told the collision caused only minor damage to Fairclough’s vehicle, but was loud enough that it attracted both his attention and that of a witness in a nearby upstairs apartment.
Police prosecutor Kimberly Murphy said an altercation broke out between the now 40-year-old and the other man, who believed it “wasn’t a big issue” despite Fairclough’s distress.
She said it was as the victim turned back to his vehicle to take out shopping bags that Fairclough elbowed him in the head from behind, knocking him to the ground.
The court was told Fairclough did not respond when the other man exclaimed, “What the f**k are you doing?”, instead locking himself inside his car.
He quickly drove away from the scene.
Sen Const. Murphy said the victim suffered a mild concussion and was expected to make a full recovery.
“The victim suffered headaches, and became wary of younger men the same age as (Fairclough),” Sen Const. Murphy said of the victim impact statement.
The court was told Fairclough was found with a small amount of meth at Labrador on May 16 last year. He also failed to appear in court on two occasions.
Defence lawyer James Treanor said the former private investigator battled complex mental health issues, including PTSD and hyper-vigilance, and had been significantly impacted by time spent in custody for prior offending.
He said Fairclough was provoked by the victim, who repeatedly denied the seriousness of the crash and became abusive.
“He says he approached the driver’s window, the (victim) basically told him to ‘f**k off’ and wound his window up,” Mr Treanor said.
“(The victim) then got out of his car and reached in to grab something out of the vehicle, which (he) says were shopping bags, but with our client’s mental health conditions he saw that as something else.
“(Fairclough) says he reacted with the elbow. Clearly, he did not continue to assault the person.”
Fairclough pleaded guilty to one count each of serious assault of a person over 60 and possessing dangerous drugs, and two counts of failing to appear.
He was fined $500 and ordered to pay $500 in compensation to his victim. A conviction was recorded.
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