Conan Munday pleads guilty in Southport District Court to Surfers Paradise stabbing

A man who stabbed another man in the middle of Surfers Paradise had sent sexual messages and videos to a Facebook profile he believed belonged to a 13-year-old girl weeks earlier.

Conan Munday was sentenced to three years' jail with immediate parole eligibility after pleading guilty to a stack of charges. Picture: file

A man who stabbed a cyclist on a Surfers Paradise street had sent explicit sexual videos and messages to a social media profile he believed was a 13-year-old girl in the weeks prior.

Southport District Court was told Conan Munday, 37, and a friend were “harassing” people travelling along The Esplanade on July 29, 2022.

It was heard a man on a bicycle stopped and a heated argument soon broke out.

Munday pulled out a small folding knife and held it against the victim’s throat – leaving a scratch – and then gave chase with his friend when their target tried to escape on his bike.

The court was told Munday’s accomplice assaulted the man before Munday stabbed him just below his left armpit with the blade. The blow pierced the victim’s skin and the muscle below.

He sought help and was later treated in hospital.

Munday – who was on parole at the time – was arrested a short while later and has been in custody since.

It was heard Munday connected with a Facebook profile he believed to belong to a 13-year-old girl named Isabella – who was really an undercover police officer – about two months earlier.

In the weeks leading up to the stabbing and his subsequent arrest, Munday sent sexually explicit messages and videos to the “girl”. He did not arrange to meet her at any point.

Defence barrister Gary Churchill told the court Munday had several mental health concerns and had struggled with drugs and alcohol for most of his life, saying he was “extremely intoxicated” at the time of the stabbing.

Mr Churchill said his client had used his time in custody to further his education – including improved literacy and numeracy after leaving school weeks into Year 9 – and hoped to continue his rehabilitation upon his release.

Judge Rowan Jackson said the stabbing was “unprovoked street violence” and that Munday should consider himself lucky his victim’s injuries were no worse.

Judge Jackson said the grooming offence was undoubtedly serious, but was set apart from more severe cases in which a person tried to actually meet with the child.

Munday pleaded guilty to several offences including unlawful wounding, assault occasioning bodily harm, possessing a knife in a public place, and grooming a child under 16.

He was sentenced to three years’ jail with immediate parole eligibility.

Originally published as Conan Munday pleads guilty in Southport District Court to Surfers Paradise stabbing