Leon John Vesper pleads guilty to Moranbah doctor assault

A miner turned up to a rural doctor’s practice and unleashed a vile attack when the medical professional refused to do what he wanted. Read what unfolded.

A miner, who unleashed a vile attack on a Moranbah doctor who would not sign off on a Covid-19 vaccination exemption certificate, will have a jail term hanging over his head for the next two years.

Then 48, he had arrived at his appointment at Sonic HealthPlus Moranbah about 2.30pm on November 19, 2021 drunk and demanded the doctor sign the document, becoming angry and aggressive when he would not.

Moranbah Magistrates Court heard the GP continued his refusal to sign the form “because doing so would mean that he would be lying on a medical document”.

Prosecutor Tasmin Murphy said when the doctor asked Leon John Vesper to leave, he hurled abuse calling the medical professional a “f---ing c---” several times in the waiting room.

Leon John Vesper rocked up to a Moranbah GP drunk and then assaulted the medical professional after he wouldn’t sign off on a Covid vaccination exemption certificate.

“(Vesper) has then punched the victim in the head twice,” Mr Murphy said.

When he tried to punch him again, the GP grabbed Vesper’s hand and tackled him to the ground so he was laying facedown on the floor.

The court heard at this point Vesper tried to headbutt the doctor multiple times by lashing backwards.

Vesper, 49 of Moranbah, pleaded guilty to assault causing bodily harm in public while intoxicated and being a public nuisance.

“The seriousness of this offence is considerable. The doctor’s acting in the executions of his duty, in the safety of his own consultation room, he’s abiding by the law,” Mr Murphy said.

“(Vesper’s) taken it into his own hands to punish the victim for not obliging his request.”

Defence solicitor Sean Gibbs, of Fisher Dore Lawyers, had pushed for community service, which is mandatory because of the nature of the assault charge.

But Magistrate Rosemary Gilbert agreed with Mr Murphy that a jail term was warranted.

The court heard Vesper had obtained a vaccination exemption certificate form from a different doctor but BMA had rejected it “as not adequate” – so he had returned to the practice “unfortunately very intoxicated”.

The 49 year old was jailed for eight months wholly suspended for two years.

Mr Gibbs said his client had been in fear of losing his job.

“He snapped in the circumstances,” Mr Gibbs said, adding Vesper accepted his behaviour was extremely unacceptable.

“He’s extremely remorseful for his actions.

“It was a background of stress that he had been under in terms of potentially losing a job that he’d worked very hard to secure.”

Vesper had been on a disability pension for 20 years – he has since been vaccinated for his job.

The court heard Vesper had also completed anxiety and stress reduction and anger management courses online and was in the process of completing another anger management course.

“He’s a man who’d taken some steps to get a hold of what’s happened,” Mr Gibbs said.

The court heard Vesper had no criminal history in the past 10 years and Ms Gilbert said this conduct was “very much a black mark against you”.

“You have no right to do what you did,” Ms Gilbert said.

Vesper was jailed for eight months wholly suspended for two years, fined $300 and ordered to complete 80 hours unpaid community service.

He must also pay his victim $500 compensation. Convictions were recorded.

Originally published as Leon John Vesper pleads guilty to Moranbah doctor assault