Jailed for surprise attack

A LAUNCESTON man who punched a reveller to the head without warning on a night out, causing him to strike his head on the footpath and be placed in an induced coma, has been jailed.

Joseph William Freeman, 27, attacked Sean Taggart-Barwick in the early hours of August 13, 2017, near a taxi rank on George Street after a group of young people had left a nearby hotel.

Mr Taggart-Barwick was hit with “such force” that he fell backwards without being able to break his fall, passing out after hitting his head.

The victim regained consciousness but had a seizure, the Supreme Court of Tasmania was told this week, before he was sedated and intubated and flown to the Royal Hobart Hospital.

Mr Taggart-Barwick was found to have intracranial bleeding and underwent surgery to have a sensor inserted to monitor pressure inside his skull. He was kept in an induced coma for a number of days before the bleeding and pressure stabilised.

The victim was in hospital for about two weeks, off work for seven months, and subsequently had to relearn motor skills. Mr Taggart-Barwick says he suffers a loss of memory, an inability to return to his former sporting activities, numbness and pain in his left foot from nerve damage, and social withdrawal with anxiety and sleep disturbance.

It is not believed he has a continuing brain injury, Justice Robert Pearce said on Wednesday.

He said Freeman had used drugs since his mid-teens and had a “very bad” record of dishonesty and some violence offences. Freeman pleaded guilty to a charge of assault, but Justice Pearce noted it was “not an early plea” and his admission came after a “long delay”.

On Wednesday, Justice Pearce sentenced Freeman to 18 months in jail, with a nonparole period of nine months.

On top of that, Justice Pearce also activated a previous three-month suspended sentence Freeman had been given on unrelated matters.