Former Allansford man sentenced over attempted cover up of brutal bashing

Jamie-Lee Ryan, 30, pleaded guilty in the County Court of Victoria last month to attempting to pervert the course of justice.

He was this month convicted and placed on an adjourned undertaking to be of good behaviour for two years.

Judge Carolene Gwynn said the offending occured in an "unusual set of circumstances" while Ryan was living at his mother's property in Allansford with his brother Luke.

She said that in the early hours of April 26, 2020, Warrnambool's William Ord picked up Ryan's brother from the property before driving him a few hundred metres down the road.

Ord seriously assaulted Ryan's brother, kicking, stomping and striking him to the head until he became unconscious and was making "gargling" noises, the court heard.

The victim was returned to the Ryan family home and an ambulance was called.

Paramedics found the victim in an altered conscious state, agitated and bleeding.

He was transported to hospital with a fractured skull and spent 25 days as an inpatient with nine days in intensive care.

He was later discharged to Austin Hospital's acquired brain injury unit.

Ord, 28, pleaded guilty in Warrnambool County Court in October to intentionally causing serious injury, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years' imprisonment.

He is yet to be sentenced but a plea hearing will continue on April 4.

Judge Gwynn said when police attended Ryan's home that evening, he was agitated and told them his brother injured himself in a motorbike accident.

But it was apparent to investigators "from a very early stage" that he wasn't being truthful, she said.

She said legal telephone intercepts revealed some background to Ord's attendance at the property and that Ryan was arrested some 22 days later.

Ryan made full admissions to the offending, was formally charged on December 4 and spent 13 days in custody on remand before being released on bail.

Judge Gwynn said while Ryan's offending was calculated to avoid police interest in Ord, it didn't actually impede the investigation.

She said she accepted the offending was toward the lower end and that Ryan's response was "an emotional one in a chaotic scene of extreme distress".

"You told police that snitching puts a target on your mum's head, your brother's head and your own head," she said.

"Given what had occurred, you were genuinely fearful for your own safety and that of other family members."

In sentencing, the judge said she had taken into account the 13 days Ryan spent in custody on remand, as well as an existing correction order in place for unrelated matters.

She said the adjourned undertaking would hang over Ryan's head for a considerable period of time.

"It also presents you with a chance to change your life in a positive fashion, should you choose to take up that opportunity," she said.

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