AN inmate has been given more jail time after he punched three prison officers in the face, leaving one dipping in and out of consciousness.
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Steven Iese, 28, appeared by audio-visual link from Goulburn jail to Bathurst Local Court on March 11, 2024 to plead guilty to one count of assaulting a law officer with actual bodily harm and two counts of assaulting a law officer.
Police documents before the court said three correctional officers were working in the holding centre at Bathurst jail at about 10.15am on September 3, 2023 when they went to move Iese from another room.
Iese became angry and put his shirt around his head as he was told there had been a change to his visits, according to the police documents.
An unco-operative Iese was told that if he calmed down he would still get a visit, so he did, but said "you guys are always f****ing with my visits".
Once one of the men had spoken to Iese and deemed it safe to release him from his cell, Iese's demeanour changed, according to the police documents.
He punched one of the officers in the face before he hit one of the other officers in the face three times.
This officer fell backwards and lost consciousness as Iese continued to swing at him, according to the police documents.
One of the other officers grabbed hold of Iese's torso before he was punched in an uppercut motion to his jaw.
A witness ran to help with Iese, who was eventually taken to the ground and moved to another cell.
The victim who had initially lost consciousness appeared to lose it once again for a few minutes as police were called.
Police said they went to the jail, but after speaking with the victims, they were told Iese was unavailable because the jail had been put in lockdown.
Shortly afterwards, Iese was moved to Goulburn jail.
Sentence
"HE'S a man in need of rehabilitation," Legal Aid solicitor Keith Kuan told the court, as he said Iese was at great risk of institutionalisation because of his years behind bars.
Mr Kuan said Iese had been in the high-risk management unit in Goulburn, which meant he couldn't have visits and was largely in segregation.
But police prosecutor Sergeant Darren Pearce said Iese's "current circumstances are a direct result of his actions; there's nothing special about that".
"He is an institutionalised prisoner. His chances of rehabilitation are bleak," Sergeant Pearce said.
"He can't be trusted because he's a risk to those who have to protect him".
Upon reading what she described as a "sad" pre-sentence report, Magistrate Elizabeth Ellis learnt Iese had threatened the victims prior to the incident.
Hamstrung by a jurisdictional limit, Ms Ellis sentenced Iese to two years and six months behind bars, with a non-parole period of one year and nine months.
He will be eligible for release on these matters on June 9, 2026.