Attacker on short leash
Court triples suspended jail term for assault on blind bus passenger
A WOMAN filmed attacking an elderly blind man on a bus has had her jail sentence tripled – but she won’t have to serve a single day unless she steps out of line again.
Larna Watmough, 21, was last year given a two-month suspended sentence for the attack on Paul Buttigieg, 77
Footage of the attack, with her friend Layni Cameron, 17, went viral after it showed the young women, dressed for the races, yelling at and punching the man.
Judge Paul Smith upheld an appeal by the former AttorneyJarrod Bleijie, who claimed Watmough’s sentence was inadequate.
Judge Smith set aside the two-month sentence, resentencing her to six months imprisonment from September 17 – wholly suspended.
Watmough must not commit another jailable offence within 18 months of that date or she will have to serve the suspended term.
The Southport house where Watmough lived with her father John appeared deserted yesterday. The family’s phone number and address have been removed from public listings.
Cameron was sentenced to three years from November, suspended after nine months, which she had already served when sentenced.
The women have been subjected to an avalanche of criticism on social media
Viral footage of the attack showed them embarking on an obscene tirade before Mr Buttigieg told the pair to “get off the bus” and “go back to where you came from”.
The comments enraged the women, with the footage showing them punching, slapping and kicking the helpless pensioner as they chant obscenities and Cameron tells him to “go back to Abo land”.
Passengers stepped in and called on the girls to “leave the old bloke alone”.
Lawyers for Cameron said she did not want to speak about the incident or what she’d been doing since her release.