Emily Cherise Anna Rose Lane Cassar pleads guilty to wounding

A 19 year old girl found herself before the Bundaberg District Court after she attacked another teenager with a knife, leaving him with injuries in need of surgery at Brisbane hospital.

The young man received a number of cuts to his back.

A young Bundaberg woman has narrowly avoided jail time after slashing a young man with a knife, severing a tendon in his finger and leaving him in need of surgery.

Emily Cherise Anna Rose Lane Cassar, 19, plead guilty to one count of wounding in the Bundaberg District Court on Friday, April 14, 2023.

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The court heard the 19-year-old had a poor relationship with her 18-year-old victim, who at the time was dating her best friend and had allegedly made threats towards Lane Cassar.

The pair had a “general dislike” of one another which continued after the “volatile” relationship ended, the court was told.

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On October 11, 2021 Lane Cassar was invited to a mutual friends home where she believed the victim would not be present.

As she made her way into the shed where her friends were she knocked a glass off a table, shattering it.

This startled everyone, the court was told, with the victim getting out of his seat saying words to the effect of “what the f--- Emily”.

Lane Cassar then picked up a knife from table, and swung out at him several times.

He raised his hands to defend himself, crouching, and sustained a number of injuries including four cuts to his back measuring 7cm long and 5mm deep.

The teenager also suffered a minor cut to his forearm and a deep cut to his ring finger which severed the tendon, requiring surgery.

“It was fortunate that the injuries did not result in anything that was life threatening,” Crown Prosecutor Annica Fritz told the court.

The victim’s mother, reading a victim impact statement to the court, said she would “never be able to forget the shock of that night”.

She told the court she watched her son go from a vibrant and social young man to a recluse now reliant on alcohol to soothe his emotional trauma.

The court heard Lane Cassars victim had undergone months of physical therapy.

Barrister Callan Cassidy said Lane Cassar would willingly pay compensation.

Lane Cassar appeared in the Bundaberg Court House.

Mr Cassidy presented a number of character witnesses on behalf of his client, and told the court her history of domestic abuse and violence in family and personal relationships contributed to her “fear” of the victim.

The court heard while Lane Cassar had experienced violence at the hands of previous family members and partners, she had not experienced violence from the victim.

He told the court when the shattering glass startled those in the shed, Lane Cassar panicked.

The offence was not premeditated, Mr Cassidy said, and she had not gone to the scene to confront the young man.

Judge John Allen KC acknowledged Lane Cassar had no prior criminal history and exhibited a good character prior to the offending, but said nevertheless her offending had a significant impact.

“Unsurprisingly, as well as those physical injuries the victim suffered emotional distress and as seen from the mother’s victim impact statement, (the mother) too suffered great distress,” he said.

Mr Allen said jailing Lane Cassar would “not be in the long term interest of the protection of the community,” and ordered she be given immediate parole with an 18 month suspended sentence hanging over her.

A conviction was recorded and she was ordered to pay $3000 in compensation.

Originally published as Emily Cherise Anna Rose Lane Cassar pleads guilty to wounding