Jason Shane Kidner sentenced in Townsville Magistrates Court after punching 60-year-old woman
A serial offender told his lawyer ‘I just drink’ after he was arrested for viciously attacking a woman over a cigarette in Townsville.
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A man approached a woman in her 60s as she waited for a bus and asked her for a cigarette before viciously assaulting her and continuing to attack her even after she fell to the ground, a court was told.
Jason Shane Kidner appeared in Townsville Magistrates Court on Tuesday morning via video link from the watch house after he assaulted a woman last week.
Police prosecutor John Moran said just after 4pm on February 5 the 46-year-old man asked the woman for a cigarette but she declined and said she didn’t have any.
“He became aggressive standing over her, she stood up and attempted to push him away,” the prosecutor said.
“He punched her in the jaw, knocking her to the ground and then picked up a rock and hit her across the head.”
The court was told when the man walked away he was approached by a group of people who started punching him.
“(The victim) felt immediate pain and was unable to talk properly,” the prosecutor said.
He said there had been no fractures however it was “sore and swollen”.
“It’s very serious, it happened in public,” Mr Moran said.
“She was doing nothing wrong. The whole matter is irrational.”
He told the court Kidner was on parole at the time after being sentenced to jail for a separate common assault.
Kidner’s defence lawyer said the issue her client had was with alcohol.
“This offending occurred in Dean Park, and occurred in the context of alcohol consumption,” she said.
“He doesn’t recall the offending.
“In his words, ‘I’m a drinker, I drink every day, I just drink’.”
Kidner pleaded guilty to serious assault of a person over 60.
Magistrate Vivian Keegan sentenced him to 12 months jail with a parole eligibility date of May 12, as Her Honour declared three days of pre-sentence custody as time served.
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Originally published as Jason Shane Kidner sentenced in Townsville Magistrates Court after punching 60-year-old woman
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