Disgraced former AFL player manager Ricky Nixon has been sentenced to an 18-month corrections order after assaulting and throwing a package at a postman.
Nixon, 61, gave the media the middle finger as he entered the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Thursday, three weeks after he was found guilty of unlawful assault and discharging a missile.
Magistrate Vincenzo Caltabiano determined Nixon punched and kicked the Australia Post worker at his Port Melbourne home on March 10, 2022, before throwing a package at the man.
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Nixon’s barrister Sai Ranjit told the court it was not a premeditated or protracted attack, instead his client acted in the heat of the moment.
The 61-year-old claimed the victim had assaulted his partner two days earlier but Ranjit conceded Nixon showed a real lack of judgment in how he reacted.
The barrister said his client was seeing a psychologist for his anger management issues and he had already been punished because of the media attention around the case.
But the prosecutor noted a podcast episode from the day after Caltabiano’s June 4 findings, where Nixon was interviewed by former AFL player Sam Newman.
In the sections played to the court, Nixon repeatedly described the victim as an “illegal immigrant” and stated there was no video or photographic evidence of the assault.
The prosecutor told the court the comments showed Nixon was not remorseful, he lacked insight into his offending and he had limited prospects of rehabilitation.
But Ranjit said his client was not being prosecuted for a podcast and the comments should not be taken into consideration for sentence.
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The defence barrister submitted a fine with conviction was a significant punishment, noting a corrections order would be difficult for Nixon to complete due to his interstate work raising money for football clubs.
But Caltabiano on Thursday afternoon sentenced Nixon to an 18-month community corrections order with 150 hours of unpaid community work.
The magistrate said Nixon’s behaviour should be strongly denounced, noting the victim should have been safe doing his job.
“There’s no way to justify or excuse the assault,” Caltabiano said.
Nixon shook his head and looked down as the sentence was imposed.
Nixon is facing separate deception offences, over allegations he fraudulently sold footballs he claimed were signed by Melbourne Football Club players in 2021.
He is due to return to Melbourne Magistrates Court on those charges in July.
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