Man, 29, accused of bashing a group of teen girls in a Sydney park on Mardi Gras is ATTACKED in jail – with one inmate pouring boiling water on him
- Sydney man Jesse Leilan Mackenzie, 29, accused of beating a group of girls
- He has pleaded guilty to affray and continuing negotiations on assault charges
- Mackenzie has been attacked in jail over the media attention, a court was told
A man filmed punching ‘tiny’ teenage girls in the head and then dragging one by her hair has been attacked in prison due to the incident’s media attention, a court has been told.
Double Bay man Jesse Leilan Mackenzie, 29, was allegedly one of three men involved in the violence inflicted upon two girls, aged 15 and 16, in Pyrmont in March.
A bystander’s footage of the incident quickly spread after the incident, allegedly showing Mackenzie punch both victims in the head and drag the 15-year-old by her hair towards a ledge.
Double Bay man Jesse Leilan Mackenzie, 29, (pictured) was one of three men allegedly involved in the ‘sickening’ attacks on two teenage girls aged 15 and 16
‘I’ve never seen such disgraceful footage,’ NSW police commissioner Mick Fuller said in March.
Police allege Mackenzie threw the younger girl by the hair down an embankment, though his Legal Aid lawyer argues he stumbled or fell and ended up below the victim.
‘They (the co-accused) start kicking to the victim, but that is where Mr Mackenzie’s involvement stops – when he is on the ground,’ Tamara Grennan told Sydney’s Central Local Court on Tuesday.
Mackenzie sought to join his co-accused on bail, entering a guilty plea to affray and continuing negotiations on assault charges.
He’d already spent more than nine weeks in custody, lost his full-time job and had a significant decline in his mental health, the court was told.
The media attention that came with the matter also led to a number of assaults, including one where he had his shoulder dislocated and boiling water thrown on him.
‘He ultimately understands that is a place he never wants to go again,’ Ms Grennan said.
Release would also open a ‘world’ of rehabilitation opportunities to address the alcohol abuse that had ‘fuelled’ the offending behaviour, she said.
Three men have already been charged and remain before the courts after an alleged assault involving three teenage girls in a Pyrmont park in March
Police opposed bail, citing fears of further serious offences and the risk of danger to the community.
‘These (teenagers) are tiny in stature and it was a prolonged series of attacks,’ Sergeant Chris Manning said.
‘If he is to be released, there would be a significant concern for members of the public, given the almost helplessness of the complainants of this matter.’
Sergeant Manning said the attacks could only be described as sickening.
‘I have to say that is a description with which I could only wholeheartedly agree,’ magistrate Clare Farnan said.
Mackenzie and the other men had engaged in conduct where the young girls ‘were absolutely no threat to them, in a physical sense’, she said.
While accepting he’d been subject to violence in custody, Ms Farnan said Mackenzie remains an unacceptable risk to the community.
His history of violence included him receiving a community corrections order eight days before the Pyrmont incident.
‘When one looks at his record … I have to say it would be a surprise (if) Mr Mackenzie would receive less than a full-time custodial sentence,’ Ms Farnan said.
Mackenzie is due to face court again on May 26.
He will eventually be re-sentenced on the prior matters of violence.
A bystander’s footage of the incident quickly spread after the incident, allegedly showing Mackenzie punch both victims in the head and drag the 15-year-old by her hair towards a ledge