A man has been given a lengthy jail term for a sickening attack on a teenage boy and his mother in the car park of a McDonald’s restaurant, which was caught on CCTV.
Christopher John Corley, 29, who was on a drug-fuelled bender at the time of the assault, was sentenced to more than five years for the crime in the northern Adelaide suburb of Paralowie.
The District Court was told that before the daylight robbery and assault, Corley approached a 16-year-old boy inside the McDonald’s on July 5, 2022 and shook his hand.
The boy walked to the car park with the food and drinks he had bought and Corley, who had been using methamphetamines, followed him.
As the teenager got to his mum’s car, Corley ran up and punched him in the face, causing the boy to fall to the ground and drop the food and drinks.
Christopher John Corley (pictured left) has been given a lengthy jail term for a sickening attack on a teenage boy and his mother (pictured on the ground) in the car park of a McDonald’s
As Corley picked up food items from the ground, the boy’s mother approached him.
Corley wanted her car keys and when she refused, there was a scuffle and he pulled the woman to the ground.
Her son was able to pull Corley off his mum, which caused him to leave.
But Corley came back a short time later and grabbed the car keys and again picked up some food from the ground.
Early the next morning, the police were called to the Lyell McEwin Hospital morning after reports a man was fighting with others in the Emergency Department,’ the Advertiser reported.
The man who was fighting was Corley, and he kicked a police officer in the thigh while being arrested.
The teenager’s victim impact statement said he was not able to see his terminally ill grandmother before she died as he did not want his injuries to distress her.
‘The extraordinary shock and trauma that he experienced would be difficult for anyone to move on from, and perhaps more difficult for someone of his young age,’ Judge Slattery said.
‘He is to be commended for his bravery in protecting his mother, and certainly should not feel as if he has somehow let her down.’
Corley had not slept for days before the assault after ‘burying’ himself in drugs and alcohol, the court heard.
He said he was ashamed of what he did and planned to follow a career in music and art in Western Australia when his jail term is over.
Corley was sentenced to five years and four months jail, backdated to July 6, 2022, the day he was arrested in the hospital.
‘There is no doubt that (the victims) must have been absolutely terrified by your actions, which were remarkably violent, brazen, unprovoked and occurring in broad daylight,’ the judge said.
As the teenager got to his mum’s car ,Corley ran up and punched him in the face (pictured), causing the boy to fall to the ground and drop the food and drinks
