Published November 2025
Assault occasioning bodily harm WA – charge discontinued before trial
Perrella Legal represented a cyclist charged with assault occasioning bodily harm following an altercation with teenagers riding electric scooters. Our client maintained that he had acted in self-defence after being confronted during his bicycle ride.
Following a detailed review of the prosecution evidence, we identified weaknesses in the allegations and advised our client to contest the charge. Before trial, we successfully negotiated its discontinuance.
Defending an assault occasioning bodily harm charge in WA
Our client was an avid cyclist who found himself charged with assaulting a teenage boy and causing him to suffer bodily harm. During one of his bike rides, he encountered a group of teenage boys on electric scooters being deliberately foolish and obstructionist, to their own detriment, when one of the teens fell off their scooter. Our client also fell off his bicycle. That teen alleged our client grabbed him by the collar and punched him 5-6 times to the head. Our client vehemently denied that he assaulted the teen but did acknowledge that he had no choice but to throw one punch in self-defence.
The teenagers retreated and our client was able to continue his ride home. He later saw a social media post online about the incident, which did not bear an accurate reflection of the actions of the respective parties involved. Our client surrendered himself to the police station. He was subsequently charged and contacted us for representation.
We reviewed the disclosure material, identifying weaknesses in the prosecution case and a strong prospect of securing an acquittal for our client. We advised our client to plead not guilty and proceed to trial, however, before the matter was due to be set down for trial, we succeeded in negotiating a discontinuance of the charge.