A Launceston man with a long history of violent offending has been jailed for 12 months after wielding a knife at two strangers in the city’s CBD.
Sean Hudson, 52, was sentenced in the Supreme Court of Tasmania on April 15 after a jury found him guilty of assaulting one man and wounding another in the early hours of March 26, 2023.
Justice Robert Pearce said Hudson and a 17-year-old left a George Street unit armed with a knife after a shouting match erupted with a group walking past below.
The row stemmed from a fight the previous night involving a young woman in the group and one of Hudson’s daughter’s friends.
Hudson crossed the road and confronted two men who had been part of the group but were by then walking away.
CCTV captured him swiping the knife at one man, who jumped back, before he turned on a second man and cut his palm.
The wound required stitches and glue at hospital.
“You and [the 17-year-old] were the aggressors,” Pearce said.
“You both walked purposefully and aggressively to both men without pausing when it was obvious that by then they posed no threat to anyone.”
Hudson claimed self-defence, but Pearce rejected the argument as “fanciful”.
The court heard Hudson has a lengthy criminal record, including prior jail terms for grievous bodily harm, two aggravated armed robberies involving knives and being an accessory after the fact to murder in 2012.
However, he has not been convicted of a violent offence since 2011 and has held long-term work at a concreting firm.
He is also the primary carer for his brother.
Pearce considered a home detention order but said no suitable premises could be found despite months of delay.
Hudson’s sentence was backdated to April 13. He will be eligible for parole after serving six months.
