Another article up at the SMH. I did not know that the penalties for affray are higher than those for common assault.
Paul Kent charged with affray over late-night brawl
by Chris ("Not Trent") Barrett
Fox Sports co-host and Daily Telegraph journalist Paul Kent has been charged with affray over a street fight in Sydney’s inner west on Saturday night.
In a statement released on Wednesday, NSW Police said it had charged a 54-year-old man in relation to the brawl.
The rugby league identity had clashed with another man outside a restaurant in Sydney’s inner west. Both men have now been charged with affray by police.
The criminal charge for affray is more serious than common assault and has a maximum jail sentence of 10 years.
“About 11.20pm on Saturday 27 April 2024, two men allegedly engaged in a verbal argument before they became involved in a physical altercation outside a restaurant on Evans Street, Rozelle,” the police statement said.
“Officers attached to Leichhardt Police Area Command were notified and commenced an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident.
“On Sunday 28 April 2024, a 35-year-old man was charged and remains before the courts. Following further inquiries, a 54-year-old man was arrested at Newtown police station today.
“He was charged with one count of affray. The 54-year-old was granted bail to appear before Downing Centre Local Court on Friday 24 May 2024.”
Vision of the altercation taken on a phone camera and distributed on social media showed Kent accusing another man of making an insulting remark towards him as he walked past Totti’s Restaurant, a venue within the Three Weeds hotel.
Branding the man a “doghead”, he resisted efforts to restrain him, taking off his watch before appearing to shape up to the man and charge at him as he backed away across the street outside the nightspot. As the clash intensified, Kent was shown on the footage to have been hurled head-first into the stump of a roadside tree.
He had been in hospital receiving treatment and having tests on a possible collapsed lung and broken ribs, his lawyer George Elias said on Tuesday.
Kent was on Sunday stood down by employer News Corp from his co-hosting duties on Fox’s flagship NRL 360 program and from his other role writing sports columns for the Daily Telegraph while the media company carried out its own investigation.
He had been drinking at the Sackville Hotel, which is also in Rozelle, since early afternoon on Saturday.
The 35-year-old man who was confronted by Kent and tossed him into the base of the tree was also hurt in the incident.
A photograph of him shows he was left with a huge lump on the back of his head after being tackled into a footpath by a third man, who had initially tried to hold back Kent. He reported suffering episodes of vomiting and a persistent headache as a result of the injury and after being attended to in hospital on Tuesday was told by medical staff he was experiencing symptoms of concussion that were likely to take weeks to improve.
Veteran Sydney criminal defence lawyer Chris Murphy, who is representing the man, said on Tuesday that his client had been out for dinner with his wife and another couple at Totti’s on Saturday night and were about to travel home when the run-in with Kent took place.
Returning to his Lilyfield home on Wednesday with his lawyer George Elias, Kent declined to give his version of events on the weekend.
“I’m not going to tell you, mate. It’s going to court, you’ll get to see all that then,” he told reporters in a video published by the Daily Mail.
“It’s all fine. I’m just getting on with it, getting on with life, going through what has got to be done. I’m disappointed but such is life, mate. Things happen. You get up and go again. Simple as that.”
Asked about the extent of his injuries, he replied with a smile: “A couple of ribs are probably not like they should be. You win them, you wear them, mate, you know what I mean? Such is life, who cares? It’s done. Can’t change it now. All the best.”
whatsnew2day.com
