Former Bandido bikie Benjamin Joseph Thornton, 24, found redemption through meditation, yoga and love

Benjamin Thornton walks from court after appearing on an assault charge.

 

Benjamin Joseph Thornton, 24, pleaded guilty in the District Court at Brisbane to assault occasioning bodily harm in company for attacking a 26-year-old man in the toilets at The Victory Hotel in the CBD at 2.30am on May 17, 2013.

The case was to proceed as a contested trial until Friday when Thornton said he was willing to plead guilty and offered to pay an amount of compensation to the victim.

Judge Richard Jones sentenced Thornton to a nine-month jail term, wholly-suspended for two years, adding it was not without “a degree of reservation and trepidation”.

“I’m taking a significant chance,” he said.
Judge Jones said Thornton made “genuine attempts at rehabilitation” by participating in yoga and meditation, by starting his own mineral water company called Pure Soul and by beginning a positive relationship.

“I consider that to require you to spend a short term in custody would jeopardise your prospects for rehabilitation,” he said.

Thornton walked from court with a smile and his partner on his arm.
Crown prosecutor Chris Cook said the former Bandidos Centro Chapter gang member was in the company of an unidentified person when he asked to speak to the victim and punched him repeatedly in the upstairs toilets of the Edward St hotel.

The victim was knocked to the ground during the unprovoked assault and was left with cuts that required stitches on his face, bruising and swelling but no serious permanent injuries.

Mr Cook said Thornton was identified through ID card scanners and CCTV footage.
He said the attack was “unprovoked and targeted” and a “cowardly example of gratuitous violence”.
Barrister Michael Copley QC, for Thornton, said his client was formerly a refrigeration and air-conditioning electrician who was now self-employed as a car dealer.

He said Thornton was starting a new business called Pure Soul that would bottle and produce mineral and spring water and was in a relationship with a woman he regarded as having a “a steadying influence on him, for the good”.

Mr Copley said Thornton resigned from the Bandidos shortly after the VLAD legislation was passed.
“It is not asserted by the prosecution the assault offence was in any way committed in furtherance of that club,” he said.

He tendered four references on Thornton’s behalf and said that although his plea was late, his client was genuinely remorseful and willing to pay any compensation.

Judge Jones said the principles of deterrence were critical factors to consider in sentencing Thornton, but so was his young age of 22 at the time the offence took place.

“The public is thoroughly sick and tired of acts of violence in public places. This court has to deal with these sorts of cases on far too many occasions,” he said.

He said it was fortunate the victim sustained only minor injuries.
No compensation was sought from the victim, despite Thornton’s offer to pay restitution.