Not guilty: USQ Saints footy player Darryl Erepia cleared of assault charge
A jury has cleared the name of a former up-and-coming Darling Downs footballer who was accused of causing a man’s traumatic brain injury.
Police & Courts
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At the end of a three-day trial into the serious assault of a Toowoomba man, a former up-and-coming Darling Downs dual-code football player has been found not guilty.
On Monday, July 31, Darryl Augustine Erepia pleaded not guilty to assault causing grievous bodily harm, and the jury found him not guilty on Wednesday.
The court heard the incident occurred at a Toowoomba house party in 2021 when the former USQ Saints player was celebrating a team member’s 21st birthday.
The former Toowoomba Grammar student and talented footballer, made the Western Clydesdales’s squad list for the Hostplus Cup 2023 season.
The court heard a fight between Mr Erepia and another man at a Toowoomba house party was consensual.
Footage of Mr Erepia’s police interview was played to the jury - he was heard telling police the man kept advancing on him, which forced him to tackle the man.
The jury heard Mr Erepia repeatedly told the man he did not want to fight, and that it was disrespectful to the women who were present.
“Please don’t get serious, have respect for the women here… we are all PNG, were all friends here,” he told the man.
When the man fell to the ground, his head hit the concrete.
An ambulance rushed him to Toowoomba Hospital where he was diagnosed with multiple traumatic brain injuries which included fractures, bleeding, and bruising.
He was placed in an induced coma and transported to the Princess Alexandra Hospital for specialist treatment.
When the man took to the witness stand he said he had no memory of the altercation, just waking up in hospital with a breathing tube.
When police told Mr Erepia how serious the man’s injuries were he exclaimed “oh f—k,” and bowed his head for some time.
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