Two Geraldton men avoid jail over moped rider bashing

Two men have avoided jail over a violent bashing of a moped rider on a Geraldton street last year which saw the rider taken to hospital with serious injuries. Joshua Ross McDonald, 35, and Hakaraia Te Waru Goulton, 23, were driving a grey Holden Astra about 6pm on September 17 in Spalding when they spotted 31-year-old Simon Reale riding a moped. McDonald, who was driving at the time, deliberately forced the moped off the road with the two men leaving the car to punch, kick and threaten to kill Mr Reale. Mr Reale was dragged back to the vehicle twice during the assault. In Geraldton Magistrate’s Court last week, McDonald was sentenced to a 10-month term of imprisonment suspended for 10 months. The court was told McDonald consistently played down his role in the attack and the impact it had on Mr Reale, earlier suggesting “I think I did slap him a few times”. “You seem to downplay your role and suggest in some way he deserved it,” Magistrate Chris Miocevich said. “No one deserves to be attacked like that.” In court, McDonald thanked the court for a chance to avoid prison and said: “I need to get my act together”. His co-offender Goulton was sentenced to a seven-month intensive supervision order with 50 hours community service last month, with the court reducing his sentence to account for the seven months he had spent on remand.