The notion that a former rugby league player’s sporting brain injury was connected to his assaults on a lady and his subsequent unconsciousness has been rejected by a judge.
In today’s proceedings before the Brisbane District Court, 25-year-old Kayleb Minirapa Milne admitted guilt on three charges of choking and four counts of assault resulting in bodily damage.
While playing in the Queensland Cup, Milne was recruited to the National Rugby League and signed with Melbourne and Cronulla, respectively, for the 2018 and 2019 seasons.
According to crown prosecutor Zachary Kaplan, Milne, a stocky guy, assaulted a shorter lady on many occasions in 2023, resulting in bruises around her eye, unconsciousness, and punctured eardrums.
The young woman’s injuries were shown before Judge Michael Byrne through photographs.
According to Kaplan, the young woman got out of a moving automobile and into another stranger’s vehicle to get help after being brutally abused by Milne.
“The assaults, in public and private, did not stop until she contacted emergency services,” said Kaplan.
The woman testified before the court as “hypervigilant” and estranged from loved ones; she had gone from being a cheerful and outgoing person, according to a statement read aloud by Kaplan.
I hoped they wouldn’t notice the wounds all over my body and face.
“I was filled with immense humiliation and shame,” she confessed. Her true wish was that Milne would receive real encouragement “to protect himself and others,” the woman added.
“I believe in the possibility of change and do not wish to see the offender be incarcerated,” she stated.
According to defence barrister Martin Longhurst, Milne sought therapy for what was believed to be chronic traumatic encephalopathy after being harmed by domestic abuse as a youngster.
According to Longhurst, Milne suffered “a number of pretty brutal concussive injuries” when playing football in New Zealand against grown men when he was just 14 years old, thanks to his enormous stature.
“It is becoming more and more notorious in contact sports that concussive injuries can lead to impulsiveness and overly aggressive behaviour,” according to Longhurst.
Despite finding remorse in Milne, Judge Byrne ruled that there was insufficient evidence to establish CTE and its direct relationship to his behavior.
“Horrible is a massive understatement but that is what your conduct was,” stated the judge.
Milne had committed terrible crimes, but Judge Byrne was confronted with a tough decision: returning him to prison might impede his rehabilitation.
After serving 155 days in prison, Milne’s four-year sentence was suspended, and he was also ordered to serve three years on probation.
If Milne violates the terms of his parole, Judge Byrne warned him, he should not anticipate another light sentence.
Due to his convictions and imprisonment, Milne, who is a citizen of New Zealand, is now eligible for deportation.
