Warriors NRL star Josh Curran pleads guilty to assaulting 16-year-old in 3am nightclub attack – but still wins in court after other serious charges were dropped
- NRL star avoids conviction, gets 12 months bail for good behaviour
- Follows incident at Port Macquarie nightclub on October 2
- Josh Curran, 24, “reacted” after being filmed without permission
NRL star Josh Curran has successfully escaped conviction despite pleading guilty to assaulting a 16-year-old in a nightclub toilet on the night of last year’s NRL grand final.
The 24-year-old Warriors backrower also saw serious charges of reckless grievous bodily harm and robbery dropped and dismissed in Port Macquarie local court on Monday.
The incident involving the minor occurred on October 2 last year at the Level Up Nightclub in Port Macquarie, on the north coast of NSW.
Curran pleaded guilty to assault causing actual bodily harm and appeared before magistrate Greg Grogin, with his attorney Paul F.C. McGirr praising his character and the fact that his client “has never been in trouble before.”
McGirr described Curran as “known” and expressed a number of concerns about how a conviction would affect the NRL star.
NRL star Josh Curran has avoided a conviction in a NSW north coast court – despite pleading guilty to assaulting a 16-year-old in a nightclub toilet
Port Macquarie local court heard Curran (right) noticed the teen was photographing and filming him without his consent – before beating the minor
The court heard that Curran visited the nightclub with relatives last year, where he liked to mingle with other clubbers.
The teenager involved in the incident asked Curran to talk to him near the toilets at the nightclub between 3am and 3:30am as he couldn’t hear him over the music.
When exchanging information on social media to keep in touch, Curran noted that the youngster had been photographing and filming him at night without his consent.
“My client told the youngster he didn’t trust him and then there was a melee where there was a blow that caused blood in the mouth,” Mr McGirr said.
He described the altercation – in an area of the nightclub where there is no CCTV – as “unfortunate” but said it was an “isolated incident”.
Police prosecutor Sergeant Garry Rowe revealed that the victim was ‘more than happy not to give evidence’ and that it was in the hands of the magistrate to impose a conviction.
After meeting the teenager, Curran left the nightclub with his relatives.
Magistrate Grogin said the incident should be a wake-up call for the NRL star.
“The eyes of the world are on you and wherever you go people have cell phones and will film you,” he said.
The incident took place at a nightclub in Port Macquarie, north of Sydney, on October 2 last year
“While I find the crime proven, without opposition from the prosecution, you will not be convicted.”
Curran was given a 12-month conditional warrant of good conduct.
He will also replace the youth’s lost phone, Harbor News reported.
McGirr felt the outcome was fair.
“The magistrate and the police were extremely sensible in the way they handled this case and that is why he was not convicted,” he said.
“Now Josh can get on with his life and do what he does best.”
