Matt Wright to be sentenced over attempts to interfere with investigation

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Celebrity crocodile wrangler Matt Wright is expected to be sentenced in the coming hours. Wright was found guilty on two counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice in august this year.

Transcript

00:00The court has spent close to three hours hearing submissions from both the prosecution and the

00:08defense regarding what punishment Matt Wright should receive for his two counts of attempting

00:13to pervert the course of justice. Wright has been on bail since he was found guilty on both counts

00:19following a month-long Supreme Court trial in August this year. He has been unable to leave

00:26the Northern Territory in that time. This morning he arrived at court surrounded by a large group of

00:32supporters including his pregnant wife Kaya Wright and his legal team. A large number of family members

00:39of pilot Sebastian Robinson who was the young pilot that survived the fatal accident back in 2022 were

00:45also present in court today. In his submissions to the court prosecutor Jason Galacci SC said

00:53Matt Wright's offending did warrant a term of actual imprisonment. He said Wright was motivated

01:00by his fear that investigators who were looking into the crash in 2022 would find out about a

01:06systematic under-reporting of flying hours on helicopters owned and operated by his company.

01:12On the other hand Wright's defense lawyer Luke Officer has been pushing for the judge to sentence

01:17Wright to an intensive community corrections order which would allow Wright to serve a period of

01:23custody in the community as opposed to in a prison cell. Luke Officer said that Wright had been

01:29subject to intense media scrutiny since the accident in 2022. He also told the court that his client was

01:36now teetering on the brink of financial ruin as a result of years of legal proceedings. In the end

01:43Acting Justice Alan Blow said he needed some time to consider all the arguments that he has heard this

01:49morning. The court will reconvene at 3 30 Darwin time.

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