The Coffs Harbour Local Court has today (15 January 2024) found two forestry workers guilty of assaulting two members of the community on a public road in Wild Cattle Creek State Forest on 25 June 2020. Michael Luigi Vitali and Rodney James Hearfield were found guilty of assault. The assaults were recorded on a mobile camera device by Forestry Corporation Officer Karen Morrow. The two guilty men were, at the time, employed by logging company Greensill Bros that was contracted by the NSW Forestry Corporation, a state-owned corporation.
Immediately following the assault in 2020, neither of the forestry workers were charged, and one of the victims was instead targeted and charged by the Coffs Harbour Police. Sergeant Goddard, who handled the matter, attempted to withhold the video footage of the assaults from the victims and the public. Sergeant Goddard is no longer a police officer.
Today’s judgment is well overdue and is the end of a harrowing experience for the two victims, Mark Graham and Andre Johnston. Mark and Andre were on a public road, in a public forest when the forestry workers approached, threatened and then assaulted them, all while being filmed by an employee of the NSW Forestry Corporation (a State Owned Corporation), who did nothing to stop the assaults, said Greens MP and spokesperson for the environment, Sue Higginson.
The initial investigation into these assaults resulted in the charging of one of the victims, Mark Graham, who is a forest ecologist. The NSW Police, after discussions with the Forestry Corporation, charged Mr Graham with approaching forestry operations. Those charges were wrongly pressed and were later withdrawn. The fact that Mr Graham was charged for a crime when he was a victim of what the Magistrate described as a violent assault on a public road, in a public forest, and it was captured on video can only be described as a wilful miscarriage of justice. The Magistrate noted that the evidence showed Sergeant Goddard had been very helpful to the guilty men and took a serious dislike to the victims of the assaults, Higginson added.
The video evidence is confronting and unambiguous. Two members of the community, who are acting in a friendly and non-threatening manner, are approached by two agitated and hostile forestry workers who then proceed to assault them, demand their personal property, and shout threatening abuse at them. It is gross and brutal and shows the level of impunity that forestry workers are afforded from their actions when the local police then charge the victims of the assault instead of the perpetrators, Higginson further highlighted.
It is deeply disturbing and disappointing that it has taken more than three and a half years for these assaults to be resolved, especially considering they were captured on camera by an employee of the Forestry Corporation, Higginson said.
The NSW Forestry Corporation should immediately suspend all contracts with the logging company Greensill Bros to make it clear that private companies operating in public forests will be held to account when their employees commit acts of violence against members of the community, Higginson concluded.
The guilty verdict against the two forestry workers comes after a lengthy legal battle and years of trauma for the victims. The video evidence, recorded by a Forestry Corporation Officer present at the scene, played a crucial role in establishing the guilt of Vitali and Hearfield.
The victims, Mark Graham and Andre Johnston, were on a public road within the Wild Cattle Creek State Forest when the forestry workers approached them aggressively, leading to a violent assault. The personal property of Graham and Johnston was also demanded during the incident. The video recording clearly captures the brutal nature of the assault, exposing the impunity with which the forestry workers acted.
Prior to today’s judgment, the victims faced further injustice when one of them, Mark Graham, was charged with approaching forestry operations. These charges were later withdrawn, with the Magistrate describing his arrest as a wilful miscarriage of justice. The Magistrate also highlighted the biased behavior of Sergeant Goddard, who took a dislike to the victims and actively supported the guilty men.
Sue Higginson, Greens MP and spokesperson for the environment, expressed relief at the long-awaited verdict. Higginson condemned the delay in resolving the case and the fact that the assaults occurred within a public forest, captured on video by an employee of the NSW Forestry Corporation, yet justice took years to be served.
Higginson called on the NSW Forestry Corporation to suspend all contracts with Greensill Bros, emphasizing the need to hold private companies accountable for the actions of their employees within public forests.
This judgment serves as an important reminder that no one should be above the law, regardless of their employment status. The victims, Mark Graham and Andre Johnston, can finally find closure after enduring years of trauma, with the guilty verdict providing some validation for the pain they have suffered.
