Young man jailed for near-fatal bashing of elderly war veteran

The bashing of Ian Gore, 82, was so severe that one of the ACT's most senior detectives, Marcus Boorman, said it was the "most horrific" he had seen in more than 26 years of policing.

It was characterised in court as "cowardly" and "brutal", but also out-of-character and inexplicable for the offender, Jacob Seretin, 22, who has no criminal history, no previous indications of violent tendencies, and no drug or alcohol problems.

The ordeal began one night in September 2014, when Mr Gore heard someone knocking over bins outside his Canberra home.

He went outside to find Seretin standing near the bins, prompting an exchange of words.

Mr Gore went inside, got a camera and a small pick-axe handle, before returning to find Seretin in his neighbour's bushes, bizarrely saying that he needed to find his bike.

The offender began to leave, but then turned suddenly, jumping on Mr Gore and wrapping his arms and legs around him.

Mr Gore fell and smashed his head on a rock, losing consciousness.

That was the beginning of a prolonged attack.

Mr Gore woke twice, once to find himself pinned down, and later to find Seretin's hands around his throat. He thought he was going to die, the court heard.

Seretin inflicted serious, life-threatening injuries to Mr Gore's head, causing fractures, lacerations, and bleeding and bruising to the brain.

Mr Gore was rushed to hospital and underwent surgery and emergency treatment. Photos of his injuries, taken one month later, show the toll the attack had on his body.

Seretin left his wallet at the scene, and when police turned up at his house, he was still wearing the blood-stained and ripped pants he had on earlier.

He eventually pleaded guilty to recklessly inflicting grievous bodily harm, and was sentenced to four years imprisonment in the ACT Supreme Court on Friday afternoon.

Seretin had originally maintained that Mr Gore attacked him with the pick-axe handle first, but later conceded his recollection of the night was false.

In sentencing Seretin, Justice John Burns said he had attacked a "very vulnerable" member of the community, describing the bashing as "cowardly" and "unprovoked".

But he conceded the sentencing task was a difficult one.

Seretin had no criminal history, no previous history of violence, was a low risk of reoffending, and was still young.

That gave him good prospects for rehabilitation.

Justice Burns balanced the four-year maximum sentence, designed to mark the seriousness of the crime, with a low non-parole period of 20 months to encourage rehabilitation.

"It is clear that your actions have had a devastating impact on the victim and inevitably on his family," he told Seretin.

Outside court, Detective Acting Superintendent Boorman said the case would stick with him as one of the worst assaults he has dealt with.

He urged vulnerable Canberrans to call police if they feel threatened or unsafe, rather than trying to deal with it themselves.

Acting Superintendent Boorman said the sentence would help Mr Gore and his family move on.

"I've been in policing in excess of 26 years, I've attended a lot of incidents," he said.

"I would describe the injuries sustained by the victim in this case as some of the most horrific injuries I've ever seen as a result of an assault."

Seretin will be eligible for parole in 2017.