Toss him in the hole, close the steel door and throw away the key......

These are the times that I wish the movie SAW was real. Have to feel for the family of the girl.

His professional dreams were dashed...pfft....

What about her dreams??

I love how they are talking up him as being destined for the NBL....

Has anyone even heard of the guy????

Sounds like Lawyers just looking for excuses....

will this mean anyone who misses out on an Aus camp or knocked back from a nbl gig can use that exuse and do what he did ???

hahaha.....cumbed.

I like the saw idea, sell the tv rights.

He is around the same age as me and i've never heard of the bloke! Does anyone even know what district club he played for?? Sounds like a crock of shite to me.

That's why lawyers get the big bucks...

I think he played for Southern....say no more.

I'm pretty sure he was one of these "social basketball wannabe's who would be lighting it up in State League if he wanted to" chump!

(That is not a knock on anyone playing social but I'm sure you all know the type I mean)

Had outstanding athleticism = Was the only one on the social team that could dunk the ball before the game.

Hmmm, sounds like sure fire credentials for a stellar NBL career!

That is a ridiculous excuse but that is how the court system works.
Laywer - 'did you have anything go wrong in your life?"
Offender - "Yep! I wanted to play in the NBL."
Laywer-"Sure. Promising NBL player has his dreams dashed by 11 year old Lolita... we will run with that.."
Offender-"But I was hopeless! I wanted to play AFL as well!"
Lawyer - 'Thats ok. We will run the the Basket-ball thing."
Ridiculous.

From what I have heard, he was just a normal young kid with high ambitions, until that fateful day when he fell victim to a last second timeout by an opposing team who held a comfortable lead over his team at the time. Some say he never recovered from the arrogant display.

"That is a ridiculous excuse but that is how the court system works."

Actually Fox73, that's how the media works. The Advertiser reported the defence lawyer's submissions, not the findings of the Court.

Sentencing has been set for a later date. Defence lawyers do make submissions about the personal circumstances of defendants, some relevant some not. It doesn't mean the Court will take it into account when sentencing.

The example here might be relevant if perhaps a medical report from a psychiatrist confirmed that the denedant suffered depression as a result of the injuries and that contributed to the offending.

It's no excuse, but may be relevant in determining the severity of the sentence. There is quite a large scope of discretion available to the Court for most offences ranging from a suspended sentence to lengthy jail time, and all manner of things will be taken into account to determine where on the scale the particular offence should fall.

TC2, less baiting Southern people please!

Way too much discretion in my opinion..... there are too many excuses in today's society.

Sorry

Yeah the real idiot in all of this is his lawyer who decided to run with that argument. Judges are pretty switched on people and would have heard all of the excuses in the book - I'm pretty sure the judge in this case would see right through an excuse like that!

Don't be too sure lockstock...

Look at what we work with here in Canberra..

http://linky.com.au/o1sbx

lockstock, don't lawyers have an obligation to pursue whatever path might give their clients a favourable result?

I'm pretty sure the judge in this case would see right through an excuse like that!

Judges are just higher paid lawyers, never have faith in just how much they can screw the justice up, if Judges had there way the 11yr old will probaly have to apologise.

he sucked big time, he wouldn't make my Centrals squad... Had no D.. Ben T is quicker now then he was at 18. also he was 6ft tall with an arm span of 4ft... He was pigeon toed and shot like Andy Simons.

Had hair like Gravy, and a nose like Cameron Wilson.

i know him quite well. he played div1 u20 for southern i believe. after injuries he turned into a very good 1v1 player and spent his time playing pickup games and social. he won a 1v1 and1 comp a couple years ago.

the guy above is talking crap. he has a sweet shot, not pigeon toed at all.

good player but not team orientated. the elite basketballer arguement is a big stretch

Skud, your no doubt right while others naive!
No matter the excuse there is still NOTHING that can draw away from the facts of the case.
Todays laws Allow rapists n paedophiles maximum damage with minimum sentences, and this judge has the opportunity to really make a difference. I hope I'm wrong but with the possibility of life as the report suggested, the judge I think will go soft as most do in these matters!
Also who cares if this GYMP is a "somebody" or a "nobody", it's irrelevant!
I just can't wait till he has his head cradled n pounded like a cadbury cream egg!!

He got 4 years for it today..

pfft, what a joke.