Man jailed for Darwin gym attack

A man has been jailed for 19 months for slamming a 20kg weight on a fellow gymgoer's head.

The incident occurred when the two men were working out at the Next Level Gym in the Palmerston suburb of Rosebery, south-east of Darwin, on the morning of 22nd October 2020.

Shane William Ryan, aged 33, who yesterday pleaded guilty to charges in the Northern Territory Supreme Court on the day his trial was due to begin, slammed the weight into the victim’s head in a reportedly unprovoked attack.

The incident, which caused horrific injuries to the victim including a fractured skull, a cut to his eyebrow, swelling to his face and 'significant and ongoing' psychological impacts, was captured on CCTV.

The footage shared by the Court showed Ryan picking up a 20kg plate and walking towards the victim lying on a bench on his back lifting dumbbells.

He lunged towards the victim and dropped the weight on fellow gymgoer's head, causing the victim to fall to the ground.

Ryan then walked away as the victim sat on the floor in agony clutching his face and head, which were bleeding.

The Court heard Ryan eventually returned to the man to help him and call an ambulance, the court heard.

Justice John Burns described Ryan's actions as “an extremely dangerous act” as he imposed the 19 month sentence with non-parole period of 10 months

In his victim impact statement, the victim said he needs ongoing medical treatment, has anxiety and must now take blood pressure medication.

In his sentencing remarks, Justice Burns said “the act of dropping a 20 kilogram weight onto the head of the victim was an extremely dangerous act. The victim was vulnerable as he was lying on his back and had weights in his hands. He was unable to protect himself.

“He also had no reason to believe that you would attack him as you did.”

Justice Burns said it was “troubling” that Ryan had showed a “lack of an obvious motive”.

Prior to pleading guilty, Ryan had claimed the incident was an “accident”.

Image: Shane William Ryan's assault as captured by CCTV.