KITCHENER — The judge called it a "vicious and brutal" group attack on a defenceless man. The victim was on the ground when he was kicked in the head, breaking his jaw. Two university students were convicted of aggravated assault — the most serious assault charge in the Criminal Code.

The Crown asked for 18 months to two years in jail. The defence sought 90 days in jail on weekends — and the judge agreed.

"I am mindful that some may view sentences of 90 days, served intermittently, to be overly lenient," Justice David Broad said in sentencing Theo Cleland and Hussein Karshe, University of Waterloo students at the time of the attack.

But the judge noted the victim, Mitchell Wotton, asked for restraint in the sentence and did not want to see the attack "define or stop their lives," Broad said.

The judge said Cleland, 23, and Karshe, 24, are remorseful and unlikely to reoffend.

"The experience of the prosecution against them, the trial, the interruption in their academic progress, the shame and stigma which they have experienced by the charge and their conviction, and the criminal record that each of them have acquired, will serve to deter them from any reoffending," he said.

The attack in September 2015 started after a group of five or six people, including Cleland and Karshe, tried to crash a party at a student residence on Hemlock Street near Wilfrid Laurier University. Wotton and other invited guests stopped them from entering.

Later, Wotton and three friends were walking home on University Avenue when they encountered Cleland and Karshe's group. Karshe pushed Wotton and they exchanged punches. Karshe hit the ground twice. His group knocked Wotton to the ground and began kicking him in the head and body.

When police arrived, Cleland, Karshe and the rest of their group fled.

"Mr. Wotton sustained very serious injuries as a result of the assault, consisting of a broken jaw which involved the full separation of the two sides of his jaw, a broken tooth and a laceration on his forehead," the judge said.

"Mr. Wotton required emergency surgery which involved the placement of a metal plate to hold his jaw together, He had to live with having his jaw wired shut for two months and was required to wear braces for a further number of months to realign his teeth."

Whose kick broke Wotton's jaw was not determined, but Karshe and Cleland were found guilty by a jury of aggravated assault, defined as wounding, maiming, disfiguring or endangering life. The judge called the attack "vicious and brutal."

But there were many mitigating factors, he said.

"Mr. Cleland and Mr. Karshe are each youthful first offenders," Broad said. "Mr. Cleland and Mr. Karshe have each pursued gainful employment opportunities."

A long jail sentence could hurt their rehabilitation and jeopardize "the fulfilment of their potential to contribute to society in meaningful ways," he said.

No sentence will undo the damage to Wotton, Broad said.

"What I can do is to avoid compounding the damage arising from what was, and continues to be, a very tragic event, by exercising restraint in imposing punishment on the offenders in a way which will facilitate their rehabilitation ..."

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Cleland and Karshe must each do 240 hours of community service and will be on probation for three years. They must take counselling as directed by their probation officer. They must make restitution for the victim's injuries and give a DNA sample.