Mitchell Mansfield, 19, was sentenced in the Bendigo County Court on Friday to one count of intentionally causing serious injury.

The attack – which a Crown prosecutor described as “a disgrace” – left the 20-year-old victim with two fractures in his vertebrae, a fractured cheek bone, fractured eye socket and two displaced teeth.

The injuries also put in doubt the victim’s ambitions of entering the armed forces.

The court heard Mansfield attended a 21st birthday party earlier in the evening, before heading to the American Hotel in Echuca. The group he was with was involved in a brief altercation with the victim, who was part of another group. 

Both groups left the hotel, but Mansfield and the victim later separately attended the OPT nightclub in the early hours of Sunday, December 20.

While the victim danced, Mansfield told a friend: “he is doing it (flirting) to my girlfriend, I might just accidentally slip him a back hand”.

Mansfield was told of the earlier altercation, which he was not involved with, and ran towards the victim before punching him to the back of the head.

The victim fell to the floor unconscious and landed “awkwardly”, before Mansfield punched him between five and eight more times to the face and mouth. The court heard Mansfield would have known the victim was unconscious at the time.

The attack was in front of six witnesses on the dance floor, two of whom removed Mansfield from the victim and from the nightclub. CCTV also captured the attack.

The victim was unconscious for two to three minutes, and was taken to the Echuca Regional Hospital where he underwent CT scans.

He was also taken to the Royal Dental Hospital, where it was discovered his front teeth would “die” as a result of the attack.

In an interview with police, Mansfield said: “He was just, you know … staring straight at me, jumping around … I seen him look her up and down … he looked aggressive … I hit him out of anger”.

Mansfield told police, “Once I flip I just lose it”, and said he was “extremely sorry” for what he had done.

Defence counsel Russell Kelly told the court Mansfield had long-term anger management issues, but had good prospects of rehabilitation.

He said the attack was spontaneous and did not involve a weapon, and suggested a community corrections order would be an appropriate punishment.

Crown prosecutor David Cordy described the attack as a “disgrace”, and called for a term of imprisonment.

Judge James Montgomery said “there are no winners here”, with severe long-term consequences for both men.

“It’s going to be a challenge for you to put all this behind you,” he said.

“You’re going to jail.”

Mansfield was sentenced to four years and three months jail, with a non-parole period of two years and three months.

As he was led into custody, family members shouted “stay strong Mitchy” and “we all love you”.