Yarra mayor cleared of assault charge at Fitzroy party

Yarra Mayor Stephen Jolly has been found not guilty of punching a masked protester at a post-election celebration almost two years ago.

The long-time councillor faced a single count of unlawful assault related to an incident that occurred at an event venue in Fitzroy on November 1, 2024, where about two dozen supporters had gathered to celebrate that year’s local government election results.

Community development worker Estella Burrows and three friends attended the event to protest against the mayor. She alleged that Jolly punched her in the cheek during an ensuing altercation. Jolly pleaded not guilty to the charge.

There were few seats remaining in the small courtroom at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Friday morning as magistrate Jill Prior handed down the decision.

Prior said that while she was satisfied that Jolly had struck Burrows in the face during a scuffle, the prosecution failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the contact was intentional.

“I am satisfied [contact] occurred. I am satisfied that the video shows a forward motion towards Ms Burrows,” Prior told the court.

“[It was] a chaotic scene that ends almost as soon as it begins … Things escalated very quickly, perhaps in a way that no one intended.”

Outside court after the verdict, Jolly told reporters that he intended to apply for intervention orders against the group.

“What they really want is to knock me off my job, and I’m not going to let them do that,” he said. “If they want to get rid of me … stand against me in election.

“I also think it was a huge waste of resources … the whole thing – in my way of looking at it – was more political rather than justice.”

Jolly also hinted he would be making a campaign announcement this month. While indicating that this wouldn’t be local government-related, he declined to say whether it was linked to November’s state election.

“It could be state, it could be federal, it could be something else as well. But it will be an announcement that I’ll be making very, very soon,” he said.

A 40-second video filmed by one of the protesters emerged at the centre of the contested hearing, which lasted five days and called on 16 witnesses.

This masthead is unable to publish this footage, as it was not released by the court despite an application made by various media outlets.

The prosecution alleged that this video depicts the moment Jolly punched Burrows.

The defence argued that the “ambiguous footage” shows a scuffle between multiple parties, and if there was any physical contact between Jolly and Burrows, it was either coincidental or an act of self-defence.

Prior said although there was “limited footage” of the event, it was consistent with the fact that Jolly made contact with the protester.

The court previously heard that Burrows and her three friends attended the venue to protest what they alleged is his past mistreatment of women, and that they had a history of protesting against the mayor.

Some members of the group wore masks to the venue and one person brought a megaphone and told attendees that Jolly was a “rapist, domestic abuser [and] sexual harasser”, according to a video played in a previous court hearing.

Burrows alleged that the mayor assaulted her by punching her in the cheek during an ensuing altercation, and her friend said he appeared “wide-eyed”.

While Prior, the magistrate, said she was satisfied that Burrows gave credible evidence, she said that the complainant’s statements were “pervaded with a notable sense of hostility towards the accused”.

The magistrate also deemed it likely there was “collusion” between the protesters when it came to their statements, which was “ill-considered, and compromised the credibility and reliability of the witness accounts”.

Jolly’s lawyers applied for costs after the hearing, while the prosecution applied for a three-month stay.

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