It’s a story that’s become sadly familiar in recent years, as people not only take it upon themselves to break into music festivals without a ticket, but then becoming embroiled in violence when they’re caught out.
Such was the case in Perth in 2015, when Wonderland festival’s site manager Aaron Gill had his skull fractured by a kick to the head from now-20-year-old fence-jumper Jamie David Foster, who has just appeared in the District Court to defend against the charge of unlawfully causing grievous bodily harm, Perth Now reports.
Witnesses heard that Mr Gill was on his hands and knees during a scuffle with a group of fence jumpers when Mr Foster allegedly took an eight metre run up, kicking Mr Gill’s face “the way somebody would kick a football”.
While Mr Foster admits to kicking Mr Gill in the head, he denies this account, and claims he was neither intentionally aiming for the head or using his “full force”, adding that he “did not intend on causing injury to Mr Gill.”
“It was to try and take his left arm out to stop him standing up… it wasn’t my hardest kick,” Perth Now quotes Mr Foster as saying, with the defendant claiming he was only trying to “kick his arm out” as he knelt on the ground.
According to Foster, the event organiser was “acting over the top aggressive” and had sworn at him and assaulted him, causing him to fear for his own safety – even as he allegedly stood eight metres away from the kneeling Mr Gill.
“At the time I felt I had no other option … I wish the outcome was different but at the time I feared for my safety,” Foster said, adding that he regretted the decision all the same.
Mr Gill, on the other hand, first gave his version of events last year, claiming that he was assisting security after a group had torn away a section of fencing. This week he told the court that he was kneeling on the ground after being punched, and heard a “massive crack” as Mr Foster’s kick made contact with his forehead.
The father of six found his forehead fractured, along with his eye socket and nose, and underwent extensive surgery several weeks after the assault, requiring three metal plates and 34 screws to hold his face together.
UPDATE: Mr. Foster was found not guilty of unlawfully causing grievous bodily harm.
