Football players avoid jail time for savage Mitchell St bashing

EXCLUSIVE: Two Darwin football players, including one who works at a local primary school, have avoided jail time for a savage attack on another young man on a night out that left him unconscious and bleeding in the middle of the road

TWO Darwin football players, including one who works at a local primary school, have avoided jail time for a savage attack on another young man on a night out that left him unconscious and bleeding in the middle of the road.

The two 20-year-olds, Moran Sailor – who the court heard works in after school hours care at St Pauls Catholic Primary school and plays for the Brothers Rugby League club – and Darren McGorm – who plays for the St Mary’s NTFL club – appeared alongside their third co-offender Tyson Martins, 18, in the Darwin Supreme Court on Friday.

Three men have been sentenced in relation to a bashing on Mitchell St last year. Picture: Supplied

It comes after they each pleaded guilty to unlawfully causing serious harm in relation to the bashing that took place in March last year.

The court heard the three men were on a night out at in Darwin’s Mitchell Street when they became involved in a verbal altercation involving around 10 people outside Ducks Nuts Bar and Grill around 4.30am.

During the altercation, the three men – as well as another underage offender – started provoking then 20-year-old Keir Elder, who the court heard indicated to the offenders that he didn’t want to fight.

The youth then flykicked the victim in the back before McGorm punched him twice to the face and Martins forced him onto the ground in the middle of the road.

As he was trying to get up, Sailor kicked him in the torso before Martins kicked him in the face and head, knocking him unconscious and lying for some time in the middle of the road.

Mr Elder was taken to hospital with four broken teeth, a broken jaw that required extensive surgery and a perforated eardrum that has left him with permanent hearing damage.

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During sentencing, Justice Dean Mildren told the court Sailor had also been sentenced for contravening a domestic violence order since last year’s bashing.

McGorm was sentenced to an eight-month home detention order while Sailor was sentenced to 300 hours community service.

Martins was sentenced to one year and 11 months in prison, suspended after four months.

The father of the victim, Clint Elder, said he was “disgusted” with the sentence the three offenders received for the attack on his son.

“This is just a complete slap in the face,” he said.

“For the family as a whole, not to mention Keir. It’s been emotionally and financially very stressful for the whole family.

“This is just an indication that they’re losing control up there.”

He said his family moved from Darwin following the incident as they no longer felt safe.

“He got his jaw broken in three places, he got 50 per cent hearing loss, he’s having problems with losing sight in one eye, he lost four teeth, he was traumatised and we got him out of Darwin because he never regained confidence to go out,” Mr Elder said.

“We’re trying to establish a new life for him because he didn’t feel safe in Darwin.”