VIC:Judges slammed after footy dad jailed

AAP General News (Australia)
12-10-2010
VIC:Judges slammed after footy dad jailed

By Michelle Draper

MELBOURNE, Dec 10 AAP - A judge's decision to jail a footy dad for four years for punching
another father has been slammed by a victim's advocate for being out of kilter with other
violent crimes.

David Lewis-Smith, 54, will serve a minimum of two-and-a-half years' jail for punching
Wayne Naughton at an under-10s footy camp at Neerim South in 2007 after an argument between
their sons.

Mr Naughton suffered two black eyes, blurred vision, facial bruising and a fractured
eye socket as a result of the assault.

Victim's advocate Noel McNamara said the sentence came just one day after three young
men were ordered to serve little more than Lewis-Smith for their role in killing 20-year-old
Nathan Roberts-Nunan.

He said it "just isn't right" that a man who injured someone could be given a similar
sentence to that of people who killed a man.

"A bloke has lost his life and the other's been injured," Mr McNamara told AAP on Friday.

"The disparity in sentences is completely out of kilter.

"This is where the community just can't understand where judges are up to and why we
must have minimum sentences for them."

Premier Ted Baillieu vowed before the November 27 election to introduce minimum sentences
for crimes such as murder, rape and drug trafficking, manslaughter, armed robbery, arson,
causing serious injury and aggravated burglary.

Victorian County Court Judge Susan Pullen said Lewis-Smith's attack on the father was
"vicious and sustained" and occurred in front of other children who were reduced to tears.

"It was a most ugly scene in front of not only adults but children including the victim's
young son," she said in sentencing Lewis-Smith, who had been found guilty of intentionally
causing serious injury.

She told the married father of four he should have known better.

"You are as a parent supposed to be setting a good example for children," she said.

The fight was sparked after Lewis-Smith's son refused to get off a trampoline and punched
Mr Naughton's son.

Mr Naughton grabbed Lewis-Smith's son by the jumper and took him to his father who
then attacked him.

Judge Pullen said she had concerns for his prospects for rehabilitation, noting his
two prior convictions for assault.

On Thursday, Nikola Andreevski, 22, John Ray Garcia, 22, and a 17-year-old youth were
jailed for a total of between five and six years for charges including manslaughter and
affray over the death of Mr Roberts-Nunan.

Andreevski will serve at least three years before being eligible for parole, Garcia
three years and nine months and the youth was given a non-parole period of three-and-a-half
years.

AAP md/pmu/nb

KEYWORD: LEWISSMITH WRAP

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