The mother of a 19-year-old was knocked unconscious during an assault in the Gold Coast has written an open letter to the attacker, who laughed after learning he wouldn't go to jail.
Taliesin Tardrew-O'Meara said he was set upon by a group of men who were harassing his female friend in November, 2017.
- Kiwi-trained surgeon critical after king-hit in Melbourne
- Opinion: Let's call it a coward-punch, not a king-hit
Shocking footage shows one of the attackers, Caleb Maraku, coming in from the side and delivering a king-hit, or coward-punch.
Maraku was spared a jail sentence and given 12 months probation after pleading guilty to assault occasioning bodily harm. He left court laughing and taking selfies with reporters, whom he referred to as "fans".
Now, Mr Tardrew-O'Meara's mother, Tasha Tardrew, is showing compassion to Maraku in an open letter published on 9 News.
"I hope that you don't have to get a photo of your child lying in a hospital bed with a brace around their neck not knowing if permanent damage has been done," writes Ms Tardrew.
"I hope you don't have to explain to your 12-year-old daughter what has happened to her older sibling and have her in hysterical tears and petrified her brother won't be coming home.
"I hope you don't then have sleepless nights over the following weeks as you constantly check on your child every hour to see that they are still breathing."
The letter goes on to explain that Ms Tardrew is a single parent and had to pay thousands of dollars in the difficult pre-Christmas period over the attack.
Mr Tardrew-O'Meara will receive AU$365 in compensation.
"I hope you don't have to watch your child struggle each day with not being able to eat due to split teeth, head spins and horrific headaches weeks after being attacked," writes Ms Tardrew.
"I hope you don't have to watch a video of the person who has hit your child laughing as they leave court and experience that sickening feeling that they really don't care nor have any remorse not only for all the pain and suffering they have caused to the person they have hit, but the domino effect that it has had on all their family and friends."
She ends the letter saying she wants no harm to come to Maraku, but hopes he never hurts someone in such an attack again.
Newshub.
