Paul Andrew Mundy, 31, faced Bega Local Court on Tuesday, November 11, on a charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

On September 19, Mr Mundy, of Bega, was with a number of family members when his brother and two female family members reportedly began searching through donations made to a St Vincent De Paul charity shop in Bega.

According to police reports, the parish priest at St Patrick's Catholic Church came out of his residence, saw what was happening and confronted the group.

The two women left the scene, however Mr Mundy's brother stayed behind. The priest confronted the man and told him to leave.

The man threw his backpack at the priest but did not strike him, but reports indicate there was a verbal exchange before the priest retreated.

The man returned with Mr Mundy a short time later while the priest was taking photos of the mess. As the men walked towards him, he took photos of them which were used by the police prosecutor as evidence.

There was a verbal exchange before Mr Mundy struck the priest in the face causing a bruised lower lip and sore jaw. The priest retreated to his residence, losing his spectacles on the way.

The following day Mr Mundy spoke to police where he alleged that he was only trying to intervene to prevent his brother from assaulting the priest.

Mr Mundy's solicitor Daniel Turner said in court that Mr Mundy maintains he was attempting to prevent an altercation between his brother and the priest and that he "pushed the man out of the way in an attempt to separate the two".

The court heard that police reports indicated this was not consistent with the photograph captured by the victim that showed Mr Mundy in an angry state with his brother some distance behind.

Magistrate Doug Dick said in court that the priest was only protecting church property and it was a shame that Mr Mundy, who had no previous criminal record, made such a decision "on the run".

Mr Mundy was convicted and fined $2000 and Magistrate Dick said it would be up to him to "make amends with the maker".

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