Dylan Meyers responsible for serious injuries suffered by 14-year-old in Wodonga assault

Dylan Meyers and Dyllan Robertson assaulted the teen on July 17, 2021 in an attack described by a County Court judge as cowardly and cruel.

But it was Meyers, now 21, who was criminally responsible for the serious injuries suffered by the teenager in the attack near Willow Park, Wodonga.

Meyers was sentenced to 21 months prison by Judge Michael Cahill - in combination with an 18-month community correction order - but had already served 488 days in jail at the time of sentence. Robertson was previously sentenced to 15 months in youth detention over the attack.

Meyers and Robertson assaulted the boy after the teenager gave Robertson $10 for marijuana.

At an arranged meeting at Willow Park, Meyers approached the victim and punched him to the jaw, and then several more times to the face.

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Meyers caused serious injuries to the youngster when he kneed him four to five times to the stomach. He then demanded the victim's clothes, shoes and mobile phone.

The victim was taken to Albury hospital later that night, where it was discovered his spleen had been ruptured.

Meyers leading role in the assault came less than two weeks after he was put on police bail over a drug possession charge, and he was also on a community corrections order at the time.

In sentencing Meyers, Judge Cahill said he had suffered a severely disrupted childhood, and was exposed to parental substance abuse, family violence, inappropriate discipline and a lack of appropriate care.

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Child Protective Services first intervened when Meyers was aged 5, and he experienced multiple childhood traumas including a serious physical assault by his father.

A neuropsychologist found that the most likely explanation for Meyers learning difficulties, impaired social functioning and poor emotional regulation was foetal alcohol syndrome.

Judge Cahill noted Meyers history of drug abuse, from the age of 12, starting with cannabis and progressing to amphetamine, heroin and methamphetamine.

Judge Cahill said he was prepared to give Meyers a community corrections order, despite his non-compliance with such directions in the past.

"The downside is that a CCO has obligations for you and it's up to you whether you can comply with those obligations," Judge Cahill told him. "If you don't then you're liable to be sentenced to a prison term."

Meyers' corrections order will require him to undergo treatment for mental health, drug and alcohol treatment and rehabilitation, and judicial monitoring.

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