A young man has been left feeling on edge in public after a jealous acquaintance attacked him at a Hobart nightclub, leaving him needing two rounds of surgery.
The 20-year-old victim suffered two jaw fractures, a broken nose, concussion and a split eyebrow and lip in the assault at Altar on August 24, 2024.
He underwent surgery to repair the fractures and a second operation to remove a plate from his mouth that had not healed properly.
“He feels on edge all the time when he is out in public so he cannot enjoy being out,” Justice Stephen Estcourt said, summarising the victim’s impact statement.
His attacker, Caleb Irwin, 21 at the time, was sentenced in the Supreme Court of Tasmania on May 15 after pleading guilty to assault.
The court heard Irwin believed the victim had slept with his ex-partner during their relationship.
The pair knew each other through mutual friends.
Earlier in the evening, Irwin slammed a glass on a table where his friends were sitting next to the victim and said “No, I am f–king pissed man. I am angry.”
The two later ended up in the mosh pit, where Irwin approached the victim, punched him in the stomach and repeatedly elbowed him in the back.
When the victim confronted him, Irwin punched him in the jaw and continued striking him in the face as he backed away.
“This was a savage and unprovoked attack visited out of jealousy and malice,” Estcourt said.
Irwin received a wholly suspended 12-month sentence and 210 hours of community service.
