Police are hunting for a Sydney personal trainer who has gone on the run since being sentenced to prison for an assault on a fellow dog walker in an inner city suburb.
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David Mulligan repeatedly punched a man in the face when their dogs became entangled on a footpath in Alexandria on September 11, 2014.
He pleaded guilty to the assault that left his victim, Karl Nissen, with a fractured eye socket, a fractured jaw and a collapsed sinus that later led to a lung infection.
District Court judge Peter Maiden initially gave Mulligan a 15-month sentence but suspended it - meaning he could be released into the community - on the condition that he be of good behaviour and pay Mr Nissen $15,000.
However, the Court of Criminal of Appeal has since overturned the "manifestly inadequate" punishment and ordered he be sent to prison.
Police haven't been able to find Mulligan since the appeal judgment on April 1 and have issued a warrant for his arrest.
A panel of three appeal judges were heavily critical of Judge Maiden for refusing to watch video footage that revealed the full extent of Mulligan's violent, unprovoked assault.
Judge Maiden repeatedly refused to watch the CCTV during Mulligan's sentencing proceedings because Mulligan had already pleaded guilty to an agreed set of written facts.
"Well why would I want to look at the video if the facts are agreed?" Judge Maiden said to the prosecutor in the 2014 proceedings.
"I don't see how it's relevant frankly if you've agreed facts."
The appeal judges found that Judge Maiden's refusal to watch the CCTV was unfair because it would have justified a submission from the Crown prosecutor of which Judge Maiden was critical.
If he had watched the footage, it would have been obvious that Mulligan was the aggressor and was much larger and stronger than his victim, the appeal panel found.
"The victim was a man approaching 60 years of age, inoffensively walking his dogs on a Saturday morning," the appeal judgment by Justice Ian Harrison said.
"His Honour felt that he was unable to determine who between Mr Mulligan or the victim was more responsible for the initial confrontation.
"The events depicted in the CCTV footage make it clear that Mr Mulligan was wholly responsible for it."
The appeal panel found that Judge Maiden was wrong to impose such a lenient sentence, with no non-parole period, and did so out of "obvious sympathies" for Mulligan.
Do you know this man?
David Mulligan, aged 33, is wanted for revocation of parole.
If seen, call Triple Zero (000) pic.twitter.com/5fKyHdNJn9— NSW Police (@nswpolice)
April 19, 2016
His suspended sentence was upgraded to a prison term of at least 12 months, with a further six months' parole.
However, Mulligan hasn't been seen since he was released by Judge Maiden on the suspended sentence on October 30.
Mr Nissen, spoke to Channel Seven on Tuesday night.
"What hurts the most I suppose is that someone like that gets away with it," he said.
"If he did it to me, he can do it to anybody."
Mulligan gave evidence during the initial proceedings, saying that he punched Mr Nissen because he feared for his dog's safety.
He claimed he asked Mr Nissen to control his two boxer dogs but Mr Nissen replied saying, "Get f---ed you Irish c--- before I smash your face in."
He claimed the pair then baited each other for a fight before Mulligan walked up the road, left his dog at a panel beater and walked back to assault Mr Nissen.
