A man involved in the jailhouse bashing of Carly McBride's killer avoided being taken back to prison when he was sentenced in Cessnock Local Court on Wednesday.
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The court heard that Christopher Dale Williams, now aged 31, was part of a trio which formed a "joint criminal enterprise" that stood-over and assaulted Sayle Kenneth Newson in the maximum security wing of Cessnock Correctional Centre in June 2021.
The attack took place four days after Newson, now 46, was found guilty of murdering Ms McBride. The jury found that he struck the 31-year-old mother-of-two to the head several times before he dumped her body near a quiet stretch of road outside Scone in September 2014.
Williams was on Wednesday handed a 15-month intensive corrections order - viewed legally as a custodial sentence served in the community - including 150 hours of community service for his involvement in the attack on Newson on the second floor of Cessnock jail's F-block.
In CCTV footage played to the court, Williams and his co-accused Denham Hedges and a man alleged to be Richard Exton entered Newson's cell and closed the door for a short time before they spilled outside and a fight ensued. Newson was bleeding when he came out of the cell.
Hedges soon backed away but Williams and the man alleged to be Mr Exton cornered Newson before Mr Exton allegedly continued to punch him.
Newson required surgery, including the placement of a metal plate, to repair facial fractures he sustained in the attack.
Hedges has pleaded guilty to his part in the assault and will be sentenced next month.
Mr Exton has not entered any pleas and is due to face court again on August 16. He remains behind bars.
Magistrate Ian Rodgers described the attack as a "significant act of violence - it's abhorrent and cowardly".
He said Williams was not the leader of the attack, but it was impossible to make a finding as to exactly what happened behind the closed cell door.
"Clearly this is an offence of a significant level of gravity," Mr Rodgers said.
Despite the attack occurring in mid-2021, Williams was not charged until August 2022 after he had already been released from jail for a previous crime.
The Newcastle Herald reported earlier this year that Newson is appealing his murder conviction and sentence.
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