An indigenous man with a long history of violence followed a woman down a street in the centre of Adelaide while high on the drug fantasy before subjecting her to a horrific attack which left her with significant injuries.
Trey Victor O’Riley, 24, was allowed to plead guilty to one count attempted robbery over the May 2022 Hindley St rampage, and was on Tuesday sentenced to three years, four months and 24 days in the District Court of South Australia, with a non-parole period of one year and 11 months.
Judge Michael Durrant backdated the sentence to August 23, 2023, when O’Riley finished another four-month and 30-day sentence for an assault on a woman who was sitting her car outside a hospital.
In sentencing Judge Durrant noted that O’Riley had said at his Aboriginal Sentencing Conference (a “culturally-appropriate” sentencing option given only to indigenous criminals), that he had taken the “wrong sort of drug” that caused his brain “not to work” and claimed to have no memory of the attack.
He also mentioned previous suspended sentences and good behaviour bonds given to O’Riley, as well as his previous criminal history starting from age 12, including assaults, thefts and bail breaches, his abuse of drugs and alcohol, and his violent upbringing and family background.
Judge Durrant found that the victim in the Hindley St attack feared for her life, was terrified during the 35 minutes she was detained by O’Riley, and suffered significant physical injuries. He also described the attempted robbery as “a serious example of offending of this type”.
“You aggressively approached your victim who was walking on Hindley Street and told her to get off your street. She walked away, but you followed and told her she better run otherwise you would bash her. You caught up and grabbed her from behind. You said you were a police officer and told her to hand over her bag,” he told O’Riley.
“You then put her in a head lock and punched her on her face, hands, elbows, knees, legs and neck. You bit her left eyebrow, shoulders and legs, and said ‘I’m going to kill you. I’m going to poke your eye out so you can’t see and kill you’.
“You strangled your victim until she nearly lost consciousness. You then bit her on the right nipple and sucked her right breast. That all lasted about 35 minutes and ended only when you vomited on her head and clothes, and when a security guard approached.
“Your victim suffered nasal fractures and had swelling around her face and eye, and bruising to her forehead, skull, elbows and knees.”
However, Judge Durrant also told O’Riley that “because you still have the potential to rehabilitate, both you and community will benefit from you being on a longer than usual period of parole under supervision”, and therefore set the non-parole period of just one year and 11 months, meaning he could be freed as early as July next year.
