Geelong’s worst nightclub, pub assaults revealed
From bouncer bashings and explosive brawls to “cowardly” hits, the Addy has taken a look at some shocking nightclub, pub and bar assaults. SEE THE LIST
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A bouncer who bashed a patron and left in a coma has learned his fate, the latest in a long line of offenders who have fronted court after a night out gone wrong.
There are more than 1000 licenced venues across the municipalities of Greater Geelong, the Surf Coast and Queenscliffe, including 217 licenced to trade past midnight.
Scuffles in and around nightclubs have left some with fractured legs, and others banned from Geelong.
The Addy has taken a look at some of the worst assaults at Geelong watering holes to be heard in court in recent times.
LEE JAMES CAHILL
A bouncer at the Grovedale Hotel, Lee James Cahill, avoided jail for a vicious assault on a patron earlier this year.
Lee James Cahill, 47, pleaded guilty in the Geelong Magistrates Court on Friday to a single charge of recklessly causing injury.
Two other charges, unlawful assault and recklessly causing serious injury, were struck out.
The charges stem from an incident at the Grovedale Hotel on May 3, when Cahill assaulted a man after he had been ejected from the Torquay Rd pub.
The 37-year-old suffered “significant” injuries and was rushed to The Alfred in an induced coma following the incident, and spent three days in the intensive care unit with five facial fractures and two brain bleeds.
It was alleged his head smashed onto the pavement as a result of a savage hit.
In sentencing Cahill, magistrate Urfa Masood acknowledged the victim engaged in conduct that resulted in him being ejected from the pub.
She said it put Cahill in a “difficult situation” but did not excuse his actions.
Cahill was convicted and placed on an 18-month community corrections order, in which he will have to complete 350 hours of community work.
Cahill’s lawyer, Alexander Good, told the court his client had had a security licence since 1997 and spent decades in the industry.
He had been suspended and was unable to work, the court heard.
He said Cahill’s guilty plea demonstrated remorse, as did instructions he had received.
The court heard Cahill had recently witnessed a traumatic incident while working at a different nightspot, and saw one of his colleagues “nearly killed”.
He took some time off and his first night back at work was the night of the altercation.
The court heard Cahill believed he had been acting in self defence, but accepted responsibility for the incident.
He had been proactive and began seeing a psychologist, Mr Good said.
MARTY ALBERT
Alleged bikie Marty Albert got set off by a few words spoken over the divider between nightclub booths in what became a savage bashing, according to a police summary released by the court.
Albert, 45, pleaded guilty earlier this year to charges including assault, affray, possessing ice and failing to appear at court.
He was convicted and fined $1000 for his part in the incident, which took place in Manhattan Bar on James St and left two men seriously injured.
Police allege Albert to be a patched member of the Bandidos Outlaw Motorcycle Club with the rank of sergeant-at-arms of the club’s Melbourne chapter.
The incident, which took place on October 22 last year, occurred after about 20 Bandidos bikies had gathered in Geelong to socialise.
One of the victims looked over the divider and interacted with Albert’s table, prompting Albert to get up and punch him multiple times before a violent fracas erupted.
SHANE HART
Shane Gregory Hart appeared in the Geelong Magistrates Court after bashing a bouncer outside Murphys in Geelong West in June.
Hart pleaded guilty to recklessly causing injury, affray and failing to leave a licenced venue when requested.
The father-of-two had gone outside for a smoke and got into an altercation with security after smashing a glass.
The court heard Hart told police he had “no excuse for it, apart from being a d---head”.
Hart’s lawyer, Simon Northeast, told the court Hart wasn’t much of a drinker but had drank on that night.
He had been diagnosed with severe depression, the court heard, and had been proactive in taking steps to mitigate his behaviour.
These included getting a mental healthcare plan and seeing a men’s counselling service.
Magistrate Peter Mellas put the incident down to some “very bad decision making” and placed Hart on an adjourned undertaking until September 5 next year, without conviction.
DANIEL THOMAS WHITE
A former security guard with plans to work in the armed forces, a court heard Daniel Thomas White unleashed a “cowardly” assault on a “completely innocent” patron.
White pleaded guilty to recklessly causing injury in the Geelong Magistrates Court in June.
White was working a security guard at Mount Duneed Estate winery when he assaulted the man on March 31, 2023 in a “prolonged attack” after the man allegedly urinated on a tree.
Magistrate Gerard Lethbridge said White’s actions were not only a serious over-reaction but “excessively violent, cowardly, and criminal”.
“Not only did you disable the person by having him on the ground, but you also went on to kick and stomp on that individual while he was on the ground,” Mr Lethbridge said.
White’s lawyer, Matthew Nielson, said White was “extremely remorseful” and his life had been significantly impacted by the incident.
White was convicted and sentenced to a 15-month community corrections order, including 200 hours of community work.
FRANCIS IOSEFO
Father-of-five Francis Iosefo punched a man twice in the face at a Geelong nightclub because he was antagonised and racially abused.
The 37-year-old pleaded guilty in November last year to recklessly causing injury over the incident, which took place on December 11, 2022.
The court heard Iosefo was waiting in line to go to the bathroom at 2 Chambers bar in Geelong at about 1.30am.
The victim walked past him and abused him, the court heard.
Iosefo punched the victim twice in the face and the victim suffered a cut above his right eye, which needed to be glued.
When police spoke to Iosefo, he was remorseful and made a full admission, telling police he had consumed a large amount of alcohol and it was out of character.
Magistrate Franz Holzer accepted Iosefo was remorseful and opted not to convict Iosefo when he fined him $700.
“Racially motivated behaviours that you were subject to … they are abhorrent and they should not occur in any society,” Mr Holzer said.
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