A man who successfully overturned his conviction for intervening in a homophobic attack during Sydney WorldPride says he intends to help other victims.
Mirco Olivieri, a 30-year-old member of the LGBTQI community, attended the pride festival with a friend in January 2023.
The fashion consultant was walking past a kebab shop near Stonewall Hotel in inner-city Darlinghurst when he saw two large men harassing a young gay man, Jack Schmidt.
After Mr Olivieri intervened, he was pushed to the ground and was called a homophobic slur, according to court documents.
He then stood up and threw punches at one of the men.
All three were arrested and charged with affray, and Mr Olivieri was held in custody for eight hours.
In April 2023, local court magistrate Brett Shields ordered the Italian-born man be convicted and subject to a two-year community corrections order after he pleaded guilty to the charge.
In July, one of the other men received no conviction and a two-year conditional release order.
On Monday, Mr Olivieri's appeal in Downing Centre District Court was successful with Judge Mark Williams tossing the conviction and instead imposing a one-year conditional release order.
“This man was intervening to protect someone he thought was being unfairly victimised," the judge said.
"These two apparently larger, more aggressive men - they were the ones who initiated it."
Mr Olivieri's partner sat in court in support while barrister Gina Edwards argued police had never taken a statement from the actual victim, Mr Schmidt.
In a statement filed for the defence, Mr Schmidt said he was very grateful that Mr Olivieri had stepped in but he was left mystified by police actions.
"I was confused and upset as they didn’t want a statement about what I felt and believed was a homophobic attack and a gay hate crime," he said.
Ms Edwards submitted the court should take into account the fashion consultant's mental health condition and the disparity between his sentence and that of his co-accused.
Speaking outside court, an emotional Mr Olivieri said he was relieved at the outcome of his appeal.
He said he felt an obligation to do something after seeing Mr Schmidt confronted by the two larger men.
"If everybody doesn't send the right message to the right people ... the world will become a terrible place to live in," he told AAP.
Mr Olivieri added that he wished someone had stepped in while he was subject to homophobic attacks in his home country of Italy.
"Even the court should understand when someone is doing good things and not bad," he said.
Mr Olivieri said he was lucky to have had the support of his partner and his lawyer, but the near-12-month process had almost "collapsed his life".
He said he would use the experience to try to help others who found themselves in similar situations.
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