No conviction for New Zealand Warriors star Josh Curran for assault of 16-year-old in Port Macquarie

Joshua Curran, 24, was charged with reckless grievous bodily harm, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and larceny following an incident that occurred on NRL Grand Final Day, October 2, 2022 at the Level Up Nightclub on William Street.

Following negotiations between the prosecution and the defence team over the past week, the charges of reckless grievous bodily harm and larceny were withdrawn and dismissed.

Curran pleaded guilty to the charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and appeared before Magistrate Greg Grogin in Port Macquarie Local Court for sentencing on Monday, June 26.

Defence lawyer Paul FC McGirr said his client has "never been in trouble before", described him as "well-known" and raised a number of concerns a conviction would likely have for the NRL star.

Mr McGirr told the court Curran had attended the Level Up Nightclub on October 2 last year with relatives and was "happy talking to people" when word got around the establishment that he plays in the NRL.

"Never in any of the CCTV footage is he aggressive in any way before or after [the incident]," Mr McGirr said.

The court heard that the young person involved in the incident had asked Curran to speak with him near the toilets in the nightclub as he was unable to hear him over the music.

When exchanging social media information to keep in contact, Curran saw the young person had been photographing and filming him throughout the night without his consent.

"My client told the young person he didn't trust him and then there was a melee where one strike occurred which has caused blood to the mouth," Mr McGirr said.

He described the altercation as unfortunate, but said it was an isolated incident.

Mr McGirr asked Magistrate Grogin to consider proceeding without a conviction, which wasn't opposed by police prosecutor Sergeant Garry Rowe.

Sgt. Rowe said the incident occurred in a section of the nightclub where there is no CCTV.

"The complainant is a young person. I spoke with him this morning and he was more than happy to not give evidence," he said.

"There are aspects in relation to the evidence that would have been difficult to assess."

Sgt. Rowe said it was a matter for the court to decide whether to impose a conviction or not.

Magistrate Grogin said the charge before the court, which Curran pleaded guilty to, is regarding an incident which occurred between 3am and 3.30am on October 2 last year.

He said because Curran is a person of "high-profile" there would have been community interest that he was at the nightclub.

"[The young person] gave Mr Curran his phone to get his Instagram account to stay in contact and Mr Curran became aware of photos and videos that had been taken of him throughout the night," Magistrate Grogin said.

"The facts state that for reasons unknown a push and shove occurred and (Curran) struck out at the complainant resulting in an injury to his mouth which caused him to bleed."

The court heard that following the altercation Curran left the premises with his relatives and that the young person did not seek medical treatment due to his age and fear of consequences.

In his sentencing remarks Magistrate Grogin said he is "continually annoyed" at people being involved with violence, but said the consequences of a conviction would far outweigh the nature of the offence in this instance.

"Mr Curran is a young man and at some stage his NRL career will end, but he needs to travel locally, domestically and internationally," he said.

"A conviction could have adverse effects on his ability to travel and would be by far more onerous than what a penalty should be for this offence."

Magistrate Grogin said this should be a "wake-up call" for the NRL star.

"The eyes of the world are on you and wherever you go people are going to have mobile phones and will be filming you," he said.

"While I find the offence proven, without opposition from the prosecution, you are not being convicted," Magistrate Grogin said when addressing Curran in court.

Curran has been placed on a conditional release order for a period of 12 months to be on good behaviour.

He has also agreed to replace the young person's lost phone.

Speaking to the media outside Port Macquarie Local Court Mr McGirr said the defence team were pleased with the outcome.

"The magistrate and the police were extremely sensible in the way they dealt with this matter and that's why he was given no conviction," he said.

"Now Josh can move on with his life and do what he does best."

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