Cameron Reginald Welsh, 27, has pleaded guilty to assaulting four prison officers at Cessnock Correctional Centre in February. The attacks left all four officers hospitalised, with two never to work again.
Welsh was initially sentenced to a three-year community corrections order in October, prompting thousands of corrections staff to walk off the job in protest. The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions appealed the non-custodial sentence, arguing it was inadequate.
On Thursday, Judge Tim Gartelmann SC quashed the community corrections order, calling it 'an affront to the administration of justice'. He re-sentenced Welsh to a maximum term of two years and nine months in jail, with an 18-month non-parole period. Welsh will be eligible for parole in November next year.
Judge Gartelmann noted Welsh's history of violence, including a 2023 sentence for bashing two men with a baseball bat in Woodberry. He said Welsh's prospects for rehabilitation were not good, citing a bad criminal history and likelihood to reoffend.
Public Service Association of NSW general secretary Stuart Little welcomed the decision, saying it sends a strong message that assaulting correctional officers is unacceptable. 'These officers are the same as police and other frontline emergency service workers,' he said.
