A man has been jailed for a sickening attack on a teenage boy and his mother in the car park of a McDonald’s restaurant, which was caught on CCTV.
Christopher John Corley, 29, who was on drugs at the time of the attack, was sentenced to more than five years for the crime in the northern Adelaide suburb of Paralowie.
The court was told that before the daylight robbery and assault on July 5, 2022, Corley approached a 16-year-old boy in McDonald’s and shook his hand.
The boy walked to the parking lot with the food and drinks he had purchased and Corley, who had been using methamphetamines, followed him.
When the teen got to his mother’s car, Corley ran up and punched him in the face, causing the boy to fall to the ground and drop the food and drinks.
Christopher John Corley (pictured left) has been given a lengthy prison sentence for a sickening attack on a teenage boy and his mother (pictured on the ground) in a McDonald’s car park
As Corley picked up food from the ground, the boy’s mother approached him.
Corley wanted her car keys and when she refused, a scuffle ensued and he pulled the woman to the ground.
Her son managed to pull Corley off his mother, causing him to leave.
But Corley returned a short time later and grabbed the car keys and again picked up some food off the floor.
Early the next morning, police were called to Lyell McEwin Hospital after reports a man was fighting with others in the emergency department. Advertiser reported.
The man fighting was Corley, and he kicked a police officer in the thigh while he was being arrested.
The teen’s victim impact statement said he could not see his terminally ill grandmother before she died because he did not want his injuries to upset her.
“The extraordinary shock and trauma he experienced would be difficult for anyone to overcome, and perhaps even more difficult for someone his young age,” Judge Slattery said.
“He should be commended for his courage in protecting his mother, and certainly not made to feel that he has failed her in some way.”
Corley had not slept for days before the attack after ‘burying’ himself in drugs and alcohol, the court heard.
He said he was ashamed of what he did and planned to pursue a career in music and arts in Western Australia when his prison sentence is over.
Corley was sentenced to five years and four months in prison, backdated to July 6, 2022, the day he was arrested at the hospital.
“There is no doubt that (the victims) must have been absolutely terrified by your actions, which were remarkably violent, brutal, unprovoked and took place in broad daylight,” the judge said.
When the teen got to his mother’s car, Corley ran up and punched him in the face (pictured), causing the boy to fall to the ground and drop the food and drinks.