Australia, April 28 -- New South Wales Land and Environment Court issued text of the following judgement on March 28:

1. On 21 November 2024, at the time of trial, the offender pleaded guilty to the following single offence: -

Attempt to commit offence: take/detain in company with intent to commit serious indictable offence occasion actual bodily harm.

2. The offender adhered to his guilty plea on the sentence hearing.

3. The offender is to be sentenced with his two co-offenders who are also to be sentenced with respect to the identical offence. The maximum penalty for the offence is 25 years imprisonment with no standard non-parole period. The maximum penalty operates as a sentencing guidepost or reference point and reflects the seriousness of the offence for which the offender is to be sentenced.

4. Admitted on behalf of the Crown was the following:

Exhibit C1: Notice of Committal

Exhibit C2: Indictment

Exhibit C3: Section 166 certificate

Exhibit C4: Statement of agreed facts

Exhibit C5: Criminal History

Exhibit C6: Custodial History

Exhibit C7: Victim Impact Statement

Exhibit C8: USB containing three videos of offence.

5. Admitted on behalf of the offender was the following: -

Exhibit O1: Report of Julie Dombrowski, psychologist dated 21 February 2025

Exhibit O2: Letter from Geoff Boye, chaplain South Coast Correctional Centre

Agreed facts

5. The agreed facts are common to each of the offenders to be sentenced being the offender (Elliott), Joshua Cowan (Cowan) and Timothy Elder (Elder), supplemented by CCTV recordings from a neighbouring property.

7. The complainant, Simon Horsely, had an outstanding drug-related debt with John Elliott, who is the brother of Elliott.

8. On 29 October 2022 the complainant attended an address in Nowra to obtain drugs, where Elder was present with a female. After the complainant had sat down, intending to make an electronic payment via his mobile phone, three additional men entered the house, being the offenders Elliott and Cowan, as well as an unidentified male. The four-men (three co-offenders and unknown male) then assaulted the complainant before Elliott said, "Grab him and put his hand up on the bench I'm going to cut his fingers off". In the meantime, the complainant was subjected to numerous punches although he was unable to specifically attribute them to any particular offender given he was attempting to protect his head from the ongoing assault. In response to Elliott's statement Cowan and Elder dragged the complainant to the kitchen and held his hand out on the kitchen bench. Elliott could be heard turning the angle grinder on and off although it was never actually used on the complainant.

9. The complainant managed to escape from the house, making it to the rear exit, although one of the offenders was holding the complainant by his hair. He was then pushed by the offenders Elder and Cowan over the handrailing falling approximately 1.5 m to the pavement below where he was punched and kicked by all three offenders.

10. The complainant again managed to get away, jumping a fence and running to a nearby house. However, his pleas for help from the occupants were ignored and the three offenders continued to assault the complainant in the front yard of the premises, captured by a neighbouring CCTV cameras. The CCTV depicts Elliott approaching the complainant on a veranda at the entry to this house before pushing him over the railing. Elliott uses his right hand to variously grab the complainant by the throat, punch him to the head, before pushing him over the railing to a concrete path below, assisted by Elder. Cowan is waiting at the path below, angle grinder in hand.

*Rest of the document can be viewed at: (https://www.caselaw.nsw.gov.au/decision/195ea75c4df1ad275ddba34b)

Disclaimer: Curated by HT Syndication.