Guard injured in toilet dispute
A COMPLAINT over a faulty toilet led to a guard being injured at Barwon Prison, a court has heard.
Anthony Hewison, 31, is accused of attacking the officer while serving a sentence inside the maximum security prison in January this year.
He now faces a mandatory six-month jail term on top of his existing sentence, which is due to expire in 2022.
The Geelong Magistrates’ Court yesterday heard Mr Hewison became aggressive after demanding a plumber to repair a toilet leak.
It is alleged he lashed out after feeling “slighted” by the reaction of guards, telling them: “What the f--- are you going to do? Come on, I’ll take all of youse (sic) on.”
He is accused of kicking out at the leg of one guard, which the court heard had caused an injury to the officer’s knee.
Magistrate Ann McGarvie said there was medical evidence that showed the guard was left with bruising and swelling and required four weeks of physiotherapy.
She said he also could not work during that period. Mr Hewison faces a charge of assaulting a custodial officer on duty, which carries a mandatory six-month jail term if the assault causes injury.
Ms McGarvie yesterday provided a sentence indication of six months jail if the accused man pleaded guilty.
But the magistrate said she needed more time to consider whether it should be imposed concurrently with the existing prison term.
Ms McGarvie said she wanted to hear further evidence from a doctor about Mr Hewison’s psychological state.
The court heard Mr Hewison had been diagnosed with schizophrenia, with his lawyer arguing the man’s mental health played a role in the “short outburst” inside the prison.
Mr Hewison is serving a 10year sentence for deliberately running over his ex-girlfriend in Dandenong.
The court was told he was already eligible for parole but unlikely to receive it, with his overall sentence due to conclude in April 2022.
Mr Hewison will return to court on June 23.