DPP wants more jail for punch attack
Prosecutors are appealing against the "inadequate" 2 1/2-year jail term handed to a violent 23-year-old last month for a knockout blow that left a father of two with severe brain damage.
Dylan Edward Ghilardi punched Ken Akers, knocking him unconscious, outside a Kwinana service station in April last year after the 50-year-old confronted him and his friends over crude remarks about his daughters.
Ghilardi was convicted of causing Mr Akers grievous bodily harm after a jury rejected his claim that he punched him in self-defence.
The Director of Public Prosecutions applied for leave to appeal against the sentence, arguing it was manifestly inadequate.
In a notice to the Court of Appeal, the DPP argued the sentence failed to reflect the seriousness of the crime, particularly the infliction of significant violence on an older and weaker man, the extreme force of the punch and the life-threatening and permanent injuries suffered by Mr Akers.
The State's appeal also argues that District Court Judge Anthony Derrick erred with the regard given to Ghilardi's circumstances, when there was little or no mitigation found in the circumstances and particularly noting his "failure to accept full responsibility for his conduct".
The DPP claimed the sentence failed to impose adequate punishment for the type of offence, and did not reflect the usual standards for the crime or the need for a general and personal deterrent.
When sentencing Ghilardi, Judge Derrick told him he believed he wanted to hurt Mr Akers for daring to challenge the trio about the derogatory remarks about the two teenage girls.
With time served, Ghilardi could be free by January if he is granted parole, a situation that relatives of Mr Akers described as shocking.
Mr Akers' sister Christine, who did not want her surname revealed, said yesterday their family supported the appeal.
"We thought the sentence was too low," she said. "No sentence will change the circumstances for Ken and our family but offenders need to be held accountable for their crimes and we believe a stronger sentence will deter others from such senseless violence."
