Keith Corey Bugslag pleads guilty to assault at Gympie’s Australian Hotel

A roofer and father of three who was jailed for exposing himself and attacking people during a drunken rampage has pleaded guilty after his self-defence from an attacker “went too far”.

Roofer and father of three Keith Corey Bugslag, 43, pleaded guilty to assault occasioning bodily harm after his self-defence from an attacker at Gympie's Australian Hotel ‘went too far’.

When Mountain Creek man Keith Corey Bugslag was attacked in the drive through bottleshop of a Gympie hotel, his first instinct was simple: to fight back.

Ducking a punch, he responded by throwing his own while holding a beer glass, smashing it into his attacker’s cheek and gashing his face.

Unfortunately for the 43-year-old father of three while his retaliation was a clear-cut case of self-defence, what he did next was not.

Bugslag pleaded guilty in Gympie District Court Friday to a charge of assault occasioning bodily harm, laid after he knocked his assailant unconscious.

The court heard Bugslag had been drinking at the Australian Hotel with friends when another group of guests arrived about 5.30pm for a wake.

Gympie District Court heard Keith Corey Bugslag, 43, had been harassed by another patron at the Australian Hotel who told him several times to “f--k off” as he was not from the region.

Over the course of the night one of the group took offence to Bugslag being there, asking where he was from and telling him to “f--k off” and that he was not welcome at the hotel.

Bugslag tried to distance himself from the group to calm matters, the court heard, but the man kept harassing him despite being told by his friends to leave it alone.

The court was told Buglasg left the hotel for the drive through, with a beer in his hand, and it was at this point the man followed him and attacked.

As the man tried to retreat after Bugslag fought back the 43-year-old grabbed him by the shirt, punched him several times in the head and then, when the man fell to the ground, he kicked him several times with his bare feet.

The court was told the man was knocked out in the attack.

He was left with a cut to his head which required staples, and a cut to his lip.

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Judge Glen Cash said Keith Corey Bugslag’s retaliation to the attack, in which he punched the victim in the face while holding a beer glass, was self-defence but his actions in beating and kicking the man when he tried to flee “went too far”.

The court heard that after the assault Bugslag returned to the bar, telling people to “keep the cameras rolling, I’ve taken a man down”.

Judge Gary Long said Bugslag had ultimately landed in court due to his “excessive” use of force which began lawfully.

“In your drunken state … you went too far,” Mr Long said.

Bugslag’s criminal history included jail time for a drunken rampage at Maroochydore over February 4 and 5, 2022.

The court heard during this spree of offending the 43-year-old had exposed himself to people, assaulted a 69-year-old, punched a random civilian while claiming they owed him money, and tried to steal a 10-pack of alcohol from a Thirsty Camel bottleshop before swing punches at the attended when they intervened.

Mr Long told Bugslag his history of alcohol-driven offending meant he needed to maintain “complete abstinence” if he wanted to turn his life around.

He sentenced Bugslag to 15 months’ jail, wholly suspended for two-and-a-half years, and ordered him to pay $4000 in compensation to the victim.

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Originally published as Keith Corey Bugslag pleads guilty to assault at Gympie’s Australian Hotel