A Sydney man could walk free from jail next month after lying to police that two African males and not a group of youths he knew had fatally bashed a teenager in the city's west.
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Harley Shaun Bartolo was at a Doonside home on August 4, 2021 when the 16-year-old boy was lured in and viciously bashed by a large group, some children, who suspected him of stealing some Apple Airpods.
In sentencing the 29-year-old at Parramatta District Court on Tuesday, Judge Ian Bourke was scathing of the sustained bashing, which took over half an hour as multiple alleged assailants kicked, punched and slammed the teenager's head into a bedroom wall.
"The agreed facts can only be described as horrific. Many, in fact most people, would find it hard to believe that a group of humans, some of them children, could be capable of such behaviour," the judge said.
"The attack can only be described as a sustained frenzy of savagery and cruelty of the highest order."
Bartolo was sentenced to a maximum sentence of 25 months. Backdated from when he was taken into custody on October 8, 2021, this will end on November 7 this year. His non-parole period of 17 months will expire on March 7.
Transferred to Westmead Hospital after the attack, the teen died on August 6 with the cause of death being multiple injuries to head, neck, trunk and limbs as well as a fractured jaw, clotting in his lungs, and brain damage due to lack of oxygen.
Bartolo did not take part in the assault but spent most of the time in the home's lounge room, only going into the bedroom to retrieve his mobile phone.
When police arrived at the scene after the alleged perpetrators had fled, he falsely claimed that two "Sudanese males" had conducted the attack. These lies were later repeated in a statement he made at Blacktown Police Station.
The Werrington man later back-tracked on these statements, coming clean with police, and then pleading guilty to one charge of being an accessory after the fact to causing grievous bodily harm after the matter hit the courts.
Judge Bourke said Bartolo's false statements to police were a conscious decision different to a claimed fear that, if he intervened while the assault was ongoing, he would also become a target of the attack.
"The offender's attempts to mislead police were reasonably spontaneous, relatively short-lived and did not involve any sophistication or planning," he said.
The judge noted the impact of the events on those who knew and loved the teenage boy.
"The court extends to (the victim's) mother and family its condolences for their terrible suffering and loss," he said.
In handing down his sentence, the judge took into account Bartolo's "borderline" intellectual disabilities, which left him open to be manipulated and exploited by others.
"It is probable that these problems which the offender has experienced for most of his life did play some part in the commission of the offence, namely the offender's poor decision to tell lies to the police," he said.
The judge also noted that this would be Bartolo's first time in custody which had been made "very difficult and frightening" due to his intellectual condition.
A further 10 alleged co-offenders, including five who were teenagers at the time of the incident, have been charged over the Doonside bashing.
Their cases are still ongoing in the courts.
Australian Associated Press
