Jaw broken in one punch attack outside Forest Hotel

A one punch assault outside a northern beaches pub has left one man nursing a broken jaw and another pleading guilty in Manly Local Court to one count of reckless grievous bodily harm.

The attack outside the Forest Hotel at Frenchs Forest, involved 35-year-old Sydney tradie Christopher Booker and his 50-year-old mate who has not been named.

Booker had been drinking heavily with workmates, when he invited his friend to join them. However, the friend turned up after one of the group had been kicked out of the pub for intoxication.

The friend was asked to buy the group takeaway alcohol from the local Dan Murphy’s, however service was refused due to his association with the men.

The court heard the victim then offered Booker a bag of cocaine to buy.

Booker replied: “I don’t want to buy it.

“There’s kids here. What are you doing?”

Police stated victim became “frustrated” and walked towards Booker who said, “Don’t start in front of the kids. You should leave”.

The victim called an Uber, however the situation escalated before the car arrived.

The court heard “The victim walked towards (Booker) in an aggressive manner.

“(Booker) threw a right hook … a few seconds later the victim’s mouth started to bleed heavily.”

Booker admitted to police he had hit his friend. He texted him the following day to apologise.

Acting Magistrate Robert Rabbidge told Booker that “violence is totally unacceptable in our community”.

“This action on your part was pretty terrible,” Rabbidge said.

Book will serve a 12-month sentence in the community under a supervised Intensive Correction Order. He is undertaking counselling for alcohol abuse.

Jonathan Jackson, 25^th October 2023