Cale Thomas Douglas pleads guilty to serious assault of elderly men at Caloundra

The methed-up man set upon an 86-year-old while trying to break into his apartment before assaulting two other men in their 70s.

Cale Thomas Douglas appeared by video in Maroochydore Magistrates Court last week. Picture: David Clark

A former fly-in-fly-out worker has spent months behind bars after a flurry of attacks on three elderly men when he tried to break into a Sunshine Coast unit.

Cale Thomas Douglas had taken ice in the lead up to his violent assaults on three elderly gentlemen on October 28 last year at Caloundra.

The victims, aged 86, 71, and 70 tried to apprehend Douglas, from the Mackay suburb of Balberra, when he tried to enter the eldest man’s home.

Magistrate Rod Madsen said the 86-year-old tried to stop Douglas from going into his unit when he was pushed to the ground twice. This led to him suffering from cuts, abrasions and a badly broken finger.

“He was a frail man … but it should be accepted he was in pretty good shape for his age,” Mr Madsen opined.

The two other men in their 70s returned home and found their mate on the floor and tried to prevent Douglas from breaking in once again.

Their entrance led to Douglas “turning on them”, the court heard, where he punched one of the elderly men and pushed the other. They both suffered injuries but were not hospitalised.

Douglas was taken into custody on October 28 last year and spent 165 days in custody before his sentence in Maroochydore Magistrates Court on Thursday after pleading guilty to three counts of serious assault, one of trespass, possessing dangerous drugs and unlawful possession of a weapon.

Cale Thomas Douglas. Picture: Facebook

Police prosecutor Mark Burrell said the attacks by Douglas, a younger and stronger man who had recently used drugs, were on victims who were “elderly and vulnerable”. He was also found with a knife at the time, but it was not brandished during the incident.

Sergeant Burrell said the 86-year-old man recently died from a medical condition unrelated to the assault after he was moved to support accommodation.

The court heard he never returned home after the attack, however Mr Madsen believed this was also partly due to his age and medical conditions which did not help his recovery from the assault.

Defence solicitor Tate Ransom said the primary catalyst for the Balberra man’s offending was meth, however the 37-year-old felt “ashamed” of what occurred.

Mr Ransom said Douglas did not recall much of the incident but was instructed the former miner was the one who called police after the attacks.

He pleaded guilty in court. Picture: David Clark

The solicitor said the attacks came during a turbulent time in Douglas’ life after he suffered a serious injury in a quad bike accident.

This led to the 37-year-old being unable to work at the mines in Moranbah in Central Queensland. He also separated from his partner and began to use ice to manage his mental health.

Mr Ransom said this spiral led to the psychosis which played a large role in the attacks on the elderly men.

In reading from the victim impact statements, Mr Madsen said a relative of the 86-year-old labelled Douglas as a “drug fuelled maniac” who caused his victim’s independence to be reduced.

“They felt pretty sad about what happened,” he told Douglas, who appeared in court by video from prison.

The Balberra man was jailed for two years but was released on parole on Thursday due to time already served.

Originally published as Cale Thomas Douglas pleads guilty to serious assault of elderly men at Caloundra