James Robert Thomas Gregory pleads guilty to wilful damage

A 28-year-old dad got off the train in the wrong town near Noosa. His outrageous reaction landed him in court.

A 28-year-old Gympie father has been hit with a hefty four-figure repair bill for destroying a public toilet at Pomona after discovering he was stranded at the small town.

James Robert Thomas Gregory was travelling to Gympie by train on March 15 when he hopped off at Pomona, 41km south of his destination.

Police prosecutor Melissa Campbell told Gympie Magistrates Court the 28-year-old soon found he was stranded in the town.

He took his frustrations out on a public toilet block, Sgt Campbell said, damaging wooden panels and doors and destroying a toilet seat in the women’s cubicle.

Gregory was found by police around 5pm that afternoon, kicking a ticketing machine a short distance away.

James Robert Thomas Gregory pleaded guilty to wilful damage after causing more than $4000 in damages to a Pomona public toilet lock when he discovered he was stranded in the regional town, 41km south of Gympie.

Sgt Campbell told the court Gregory’s rampage had caused $4692.60 in damage to the toilets, and left them unable to be used by the public.

Duty lawyer Chris Anderson said his client “had been drinking” and “got off the train early” only to find there was no transport available to let him finish the trip.

He did not offer any explanation as to why he chose to disembark at Pomona.

Magistrate John Milburn accepted Gregory’s guilty plea to the wilful damage charge, ordered that he serve 80 hours of community service, and repay Noosa Shire Council the full cost of the damage he had done.

Originally published as James Robert Thomas Gregory pleads guilty to wilful damage