Edward Thomas Keyworth in court for assault

A former butcher with a violent criminal history, including a manslaughter conviction, has fronted court for punching a tradie he says was mistreating his dog.

A former butcher with a previous conviction for manslaughter has faced court after he attacked a tradesman he believed was mistreating his dog.

Edward Thomas Keyworth, 39, pleaded guilty in Bundaberg Magistrates Court to one count of assault occasioning bodily harm and one count of common assault relating to an incident on June 15, 2021.

According to police, Keyworth had been boarding at the home of one of his victims when some tradesmen came to install solar panels and a water heating system.

Things turned violent when Keyworth’s dog was in the work area, and one of the tradesmen tried to get the pet and tie it up.

The court heard Keyworth had screamed “who the f--- do you think you are, touching my dog?” before going up to the worker and slapping him in the face with enough force to knock him over.

While his victim was down, Keyworth punched him in the nose, causing immediate pain.

Another man who lived at the home then appeared and asked “don‘t you think he’s had enough?” at which point he was also punched in the chest.

Keyworth’s lawyer Rian Dwyer told the court his client believed the tradesman had been mistreating his dog.

He said Keyworth told him he had made an early apology for his actions.

Edward Thomas Keyworth.

The tradesman suffered bruising and swelling to his face the next day.

The court heard Keyworth had a lengthy criminal history peppered with assault, violence and jail terms.

“It’s a very prejudicial history,” Magistrate John McInnes told the court.

“The only thing that can be said in his favour is there was about a five-year gap between 2016 and 2021 …”

Mr McInnes noted the defendant's prior offences, including domestic violence common assaults in July last year, common assault in 2016, another assault in 2015 as well as an incident of assault occasioning bodily harm and contravening his prison release conditions that year.

The court heard Keyworth had several suspended sentences invoked over the years, and in 2013, he had wilfully destroyed a protective services facility.

The most serious offence in his background was a conviction for manslaughter for which he received a seven-year prison sentence in 2007.

Mr McInnes heard “mitigating factors” from Keyworth’s lawyer, including that he was the father of eight children and had suffered a violent and abusive life at the hands of his late father who, at one stage, had backed over him with a car, leaving him with ongoing physical issues.

Bundaberg Court House.

“It’s well known people who are a victim of violence in their youth sometimes struggle with similar behaviours themselves and of course it’s not your fault that adults in your life who should have been acting protectively, it seems, failed in that duty,” he said.

“So that’s a factor that pulls the other way.

“I do believe that experience in your youth has directly led to you, at times, having trouble keeping your hands to yourself.”

The court heard Keyworth, formerly of Maryborough, also suffered from emphysema both from smoking and carrying out welding work without proper protection but did not use drugs or suffer from mental health problems.

He held certificates in engineering and had been employed when physically able.

He’d also refrained from offending since assaulting the tradesman and his former housemate.

For the charge of assault occasioning bodily harm, he was sentenced to six months in jail, suspended for a period of nine months.

He was also sentenced to one month in jail to be served concurrently, also suspended for nine months.

Keyworth was ordered to pay $500 compensation to the tradesman, referred to SPER

Originally published as Edward Thomas Keyworth in court for assault