The man who claims he has been attacked by a yowie twice has pleaded guilty to the assault of his neighbour.
Cryptozoologist Dean Harrison pleaded guilty to occasionally grievous bodily harm when he faced the Southport Magistrates Court, Queensland, on Wednesday.
The yowie hunter punched the victim seven times, knocking him unconscious for a couple of minutes.
Cryptozoologist Dean Harrison (pictured) has pleaded guilty to the assault of his neighbour after altercation about parking dogs
Harrison claims that he has been assault by yowies twice in studies that have taken him to the Amazon and the Solomon Islands
In the lead up to the assault, Harrison had complained about being kept awake at night by his neighbours’ barking dogs, the court heard.
He had exchanged phone numbers with the neighbour to discuss the dogs, the Gold Coast Bulletin reported.
On January 20, the victim visited Harrison’s property with his mother.
The trio engaged in a calm conversation before Harrison suddenly bashed the victim.
The attack was captured on video footage and played for the court.
Following the altercation, the victim was taken to Gold Coast University Hospital for treatment.
Defence barrister Angus Edwards argued that Harrison was struggling emotional stress as his 17-year-old daughter was experiencing issues at the time of the out-of-character assault.
Harrison’s defence lawyer argued that the attack was out of character for the ‘yowie hunter’ (pictured) and he had written an apology letter to the victim
Edwards told the court that Harrison had written an apology letter to the victim and supplied the CCTV footage to the police.
The court also heard of Harrison’s leading role in the cryptozoology field, which has taken him to the Amazon and the Solomon Islands.
Harrison has been featured in National Geographic.
Harrison also has his own website called Dean Harrison’s Australian Yowie Research, where members of the public can share their yowie sightings in an online forum.
The website defines yowies in Australia as part of the Australopithecine species based on sightings of ‘ape man-like creature’ or ‘hairy man.’
In response to skepticism about the yowie population, the website reads: ‘It’s obvious. Why? Because I’ve seen.’
Harrison was sentenced to 12 months in prison, wholly suspended for two years, and was ordered to pay a $2,000 compensation fee to the victim.
Harrison (pictured) was sentenced to twelve-months in prison wholly suspended for two years