Prosecutors push for more jail for neo-Nazi leaders
Prosecutors are pushing for more jail time for two neo-Nazi leaders who attacked a group of hikers in a national park, arguing their original sentences were manifestly inadequate.
Thomas Sewell (centre) and defence barrister Dermot Dann (left) depart during a lunch break at the Court of Appeal in Melbourne, Friday, March 22, 2024. Photo: James Ross/AAP
Thomas Sewell, 31, and Jacob Hersant, 25, were sentenced in October 2023 after pleading guilty in the County Court to a violent affray in Victoria’s Cathedral Ranges State Park.
The pair were part of a group of far-right National Socialist Network and European Australian Movement members who set upon the hikers in May 2021.
Ten to 15 men ran toward the hikers’ car, concealed their identities and threatened the group of friends, including one with a knife.
Prosecutors at the time claimed Sewell injured his arm on a broken window, either by breaking it himself or reaching into the car, while Hersant was said to have reached through the driver’s side window to either turn off the car or take the keys.
Sewell received a 37-day jail term, reckoned as time served, while Hersant was ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid community work over 14 months.
The three days Hersant spent on remand were also noted in his sentence as time served.
Victoria’s Director of Public Prosecutions launched an appeal of their sentences, with chief crown prosecutor Brendan Kissane on Friday arguing they were manifestly inadequate.
Mr Kissane told the state’s Court of Appeal that in her sentencing, Judge Kellie Blair had failed to recognise the “terrifying” incident was a serious example of the violent disorder offence.
Judge Blair had also placed too much weight on the pair’s late guilty pleas and she wrongly found their prospects of rehabilitation were good, the prosecutor said.
Mr Kissane argued the original prosecutors had pushed for a combination sentence of up to a year in jail and a community corrections order for both Sewell and Hersant.
Their current sentences did not reflect the seriousness of the offending, nor did it deter the community from committing similar crimes, he said.
But Sewell’s barrister, Dermott Dann, told the court the DPP’s case was “highly questionable”.
He said Judge Blair rightly took into account Sewell’s onerous six months in custody during the COVID-19 pandemic, in which he had spent most of his time in solitary confinement.
The sentencing judge also gave correct weight to Sewell’s plea as it avoided the need for a trial with witnesses being called, Mr Dann said.
He said Corrections Victoria had correctly assessed Sewell’s prospects through the usual approach, rather than being focused on his political views.
Hersant’s barrister, Christopher Carr, said his client’s “entrenched views” would not predispose him to reoffend or affect his prospects of rehabilitation.
Mr Carr said the sentencing judge did not make an error as she properly took into account that Hersant was a young offender with no prior violent offences.
Hersant had already completed his 200 hours of unpaid community work and re-sentencing him to more jail time would hinder his rehabilitation, he said.
Victorian Court of Appeal President Justice Karin Emerton and Justices Maree Kennedy and Christopher Boyce reserved their decision for a later date.
Outside court, Sewell told reporters the appeal was a “political witch-hunt”, adding he spent his six months in solitary confinement “meditating”.
Hersant, who did not speak to journalists, is facing separate charges of intentionally performing the Nazi salute outside the County Court following his sentence.
AAP
Sewell in particular is known for what he is. He’s a committed neo-Nazi with intent to use his beliefs in the future. The sentencing of these men is pitifully inadequate and sends a very bad message to all those who embrace this hideous, and dangerous, ideology.