Justin Michael Talbot was yesterday handed a 14-month prison term, with a non-parole period of eight months, over the late-night assaults on August 18 last year.

He immediately lodged an appeal and was granted bail to reside at his California Gully home.

Talbot pleaded guilty to assaulting four men, leaving one unconscious on the footpath outside Cold Rock Ice Creamery.

Magistrate Bruce Cottrill said the reckless cause of injuries warranted a term of imprisonment. He said it was clear none of the victims did anything to provoke the “vicious, random” attack.

“The footage shown to the court demonstrates acts of callous thuggery,” he said.

“This was not a single moment of spontaneous combustion. There were four victims and each were singled out. The actions appear to have been premeditated.”

Mr Cottrill said the case highlighted the usefulness of CCTV footage in catching the perpetrators of random acts of violence.

He said the footage showed Talbot committing an act of “egregious brutality” before “strolling off down the street”. 

“After the assaults (Talbot) demonstrates no remorse or concern, and indeed is seen lurking in the shadows as the victim lies unconscious on the footpath,” the magistrate said.

“The victims were – as many young people walking the streets of Bendigo in the early hours – law-abiding, minding their own business and expecting to be safe from random, vicious acts of violence.”

The court heard the victims had suffered permanent scarring and long-term injuries, requiring ongoing medical treatment and plastic surgery. 

Mr Cottrill said the attacks could have had more dire consequences.

“These type of unprovoked attacks plague the community,” he said. “They can cause dreadful injuries and tragically, on occasion, death.

“It goes without saying that acts of this nature have a profound effect, psychologically, upon the victims. In that extent they create a flow-on effect to the community.”

The court heard Talbot had previously faced court for other cases of assault and had suffered from problems with anxiety in public places.

He is employed at a piggery and has been offered ongoing work.

Talbot has been ordered to comply with bail conditions and must comply with an exclusion order from licensed premises in Bendigo’s CBD for 12 months.