Victim had suspected skull fractures, tissue damage
THE son of Australia`s new Governor-General, Quentin Bryce, was involved in a vicious group attack on a university campus that left a student unconscious and ended with him pleading guilty to an assault charge.
Rupert Bryce, the third-eldest of the Governor-General`s five children, was one of four men involved in an attack described in an investigating officer`s records as "drunken retribution" over an earlier incident involving Mr Bryce`s then girlfriend.
A student was kicked in the face and throat in the attack, police said.
One of Mr Bryce`s friends was found responsible for attacking the student and an initial charge of aggravated assault against Mr Bryce was downgraded.
The student was treated for suspected skull fractures, severe soft tissue damage and a broken nose.
He required medical treatment that cost $16,000, documents show.
Mr Bryce admitted he was a member of the group but stressed that he never hit anyone.
The incident took place while Mr Bryce, now 38, was on a swimming scholarship at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City in 1995.
A police report said Mr Bryce and three friends decided to front a fellow student they thought was involved in an incident at a party earlier in the night.
Mr Bryce`s then girlfriend allegedly had been pushed down a flight of stairs at the party and suffered minor injuries, police said.
Salt Lake County deputy district attorney Roger Blaylock, who prosecuted the case, told The Sunday Mail details leading up to the incident were provided by several witnesses.
"They (the four men) were going to teach somebody a lesson and the way they`d do that would be to beat them up," Mr Blaylock said.
"It appears that these men had been drinking and their judgment was clouded, but I`m sure Rupert was very upset about the fact that his girlfriend had been injured."
In a statement to The Sunday Mail, Mr Bryce - a psychologist who runs a Brisbane-based consultancy - said initial aggravated assault charges laid against him by police were dropped because they were not "supported by any evidence".
He said he "sincerely regretted" being "caught up in the group`s actions".
"It`s important that you know I did not hit anyone," Mr Bryce said.
"I took the matter very seriously at the time, as did my family who fully supported me.
"While I did not hit anyone, I was however prepared to accept the consequences of being part of the group`s involvement in a serious incident.
"It was a mistake that I have paid dearly for in every respect, and one that I have learnt a great deal from.
"I have moved on: it was a long time ago."
A spokeswoman for Mr Bryce`s mother, Quentin, who was sworn in this month as governor-general, said she would not comment.
While Utah court records on the case have been destroyed, The Sunday Mail obtained a court docket and a police report in which two witnesses spoke of Mr Bryce`s involvement in an alleged assault on two fellow students - Thomas Martinez and Alfred Martin.
University of Utah Police patrol officer Brian Stahle wrote in a report he believed the attacks were an act of drunken retribution.
Officer Stahle wrote that the group forced their way into Mr Martin`s dormitory room.
Mr Martinez went to help Mr Martin and the men turned on him, Officer Stahl wrote.
"Martinez then fell to the floor and was kicked in the face and throat area," Officer Stahle wrote.
The attack stopped when Mr Martinez appeared to lose consciousness, the police report stated.
Mr Bryce in his statement to The Sunday Mail said his then girlfriend had been pushed down some stairs and a "group of us were involved in the incident where a person was hurt".
"The police were involved and some charges were laid," Mr Bryce said. He said the assault on Mr Martinez was "beyond my control".
Police records show Mr Bryce and three other men linked to the incident by witnesses surrendered to police and spent less than 24 hours in the Salt Lake County Jail.
A Utah court docket shows Mr Bryce and two University of Utah teammates pleaded guilty in the Salt Lake District Court in June 1995 to attacking fellow students Thomas Martinez and Alfred Martin.
Mr Bryce and one of his friends, Eric Gustafson, 21, were initially charged with misdemeanour offences of aggravated assault and burglary which were dropped, records show.
Under plea deals -=- which are commonly negotiated in the American justice system - Mr Bryce`s guilty plea was to a lesser assault charge while Mr Gustafson pleaded guilty to trespassing and assault.
They were sentenced to probation and 100 hours of community service.
A local newspaper report of the court case said Mr Bryce had to complete his community service before the university awarded him his bachelor`s degree in psychology.
Another man arrested over the attack, Scott Wester, 20, was sentenced to two one-year suspended jail terms for aggravated assault and burglary.
All three men were ordered to pay equal shares of Mr Martinez`s medical expenses, which totalled more than $A16,000, according to court documents.
Mr Martinez, who required several operations for his injuries, according to court documents, could not be contacted by The Sunday Mail.
Mr Martin, now 33, declined to comment.
His mother, Irene Martin, said her son had suffered "disturbing" memories of the vicious attack and has "gone on with his life".
AMERICANS gathered to mark the seventh anniversary of the terror attacks that shook the world.
