Hughen Duff jailed for savage Paynesville home invasion, assault

A terrified victim was kicked and attacked with a knife as he curled up in a ball after two thugs smashed their way into his Paynesville home.

Hughen Duff will spend at least three years behind bars.

Thugs smashed their way into a Paynesville man’s home and battered him with a weapon as he curled up on the floor and pleaded with them to stop in a “cold-blooded attack”.

Hughen Duff, 25, was sentenced to a minimum of three years’ jail before the County Court on Monday, having pleaded guilty to home invasion and recklessly causing injury.

The Bairnsdale man was working with another man when he carried out the sickening attack on a friend of his partner’s ex-boyfriend about 9.40pm on January 6 last year.

Duff began by bashing loudly on the man’s front door, causing the scared victim to grab a chainsaw from his kitchen and start it up to try to scare Duff away.

Hughen Duff has been jailed.

Duff’s accomplice then began shattering the window’s of the man’s home with an adapted paint stirrer, which the victim believed was a bat.

Duff then smashed his way through the glass front door

The court heard the petrified victim yelled, “just leave me alone, just leave me alone”, and turned off the chainsaw, not wanting to commit a crime.

The man then curled up into a ball on the ground and covered his head as Duff kicked and punched him.

Meanwhile, the other thug hit him with the paint stirrer.

Duff repeatedly told the victim, “yeah that’s right, you’re just a little b--ch”.

The victim, who never tried to fight back, blacked out during the beating.

Duff then picked up a knife from the table and pointed it at the victim, cutting the victim’s elbow as he waved the knife around.

The court was told neighbours heard the home invasion and called police, with one able to see the attack in the victim’s kitchen.

The neighbour yelled at the thugs to stop.

The thugs then hit the victim a few more times, telling him, “You think this is bad, wait until another six guys come back”, and “yeah, they’re bikies”, before fleeing.

The pair was arrested shortly after when they drove past the property as police were speaking to the victim, and he pointed them out, leading to a police chase and their arrest.

The thugs had been on the way to hospital, with Duff having cut his arm and toe during the attack.

The victim suffered a broken foot, bruises all over his body and was left with a scar where the knife cut his elbow.

A statement read to the court at the plea hearing revealed he had been hugely psychologically impacted by the attack.

“I thought I was going to die,” it read.

The court heard the man was too scared to go out alone and had moved back in with his parents.

Judge Stuart said the savage assault, which was a “pretty cold-blooded attack in (the victim’s) own home”, was a “particularly nasty example” of a home invasion.

The court heard Duff had fronted court for two previous serious assaults, but had never been given a jail sentence before.

Duff’s lawyer said his client had experienced a difficult childhood and had begun using alcohol and drugs at a young age, being diagnosed with cannabis dependency as a 16-year-old.

It was heard Duff had struggled through numerous schools, including Bairnsdale Secondary College, and was repeatedly suspended and diagnosed with ADHD.

The lawyer told the court his client could hardly read or write and had never finished a book.

It was heard Duff had been involved in Paynesville Football Club, and references attesting to his good character were tendered from his partner and her mother.

Judge Stuart said the attack, which was motivated by “some petty grudge”, was very “cowardly”.

“If your purpose was to terrify your victim, you certainly succeeded,” Judge Stuart said.

The judge noted Duff had reasonable prospects of rehabilitation.

Duff was sentenced to a maximum of five years’ jail, having already served 39 days since his plea hearing.