Pensioner was wrongly branded a paedophile and given the nickname ‘Chester the Molester’ before he was bashed to death

A pensioner was wrongly branded a pedophile by a ‘rumor mill’ in a rural town before he was fatally beaten by a man searching for a missing teenager, a court has been told.

Anthony Davies, 35, was found guilty of the manslaughter of Kenneth Campbell, 74, in Parkes, central west, in April N.S.Win the early hours of May 6, 2020.

Davies is believed to have hit Mr Campbell on the head at least once after breaking into his home to look for the missing girl, his NSW. High Council The sentencing hearing was announced on Friday.

Although Campbell was never charged with sex crimes, he was nicknamed “Chester the Molester” around town because of his strange behavior, which may have been the result of a brain injury.

Mr Campbell had previously suffered two accidents which changed his personality and left him with one eye and facial scars.

Anthony Davies, 35, is believed to have punched Kenneth Campbell, 74, in the head at least once after breaking into his home, his NSW Supreme Court sentencing hearing was told on Friday (pictured at Orange District Court)

Davies broke into Mr Campbell’s home drunk that night and attacked him in his bedroom, Attorney General Michelle Swift told the hearing.

“The perpetrator… entered the house because he believed the person living in that house was a pedophile,” Ms Swift told the Orange court.

“He went into the house to look for (the girl).”

Ms Swift said Davies’ incorrect belief about Mr Campbell aggravated the offending because he viewed the older man as part of a hated group.

There was also evidence of “significant force” as witnesses heard loud bangs coming from Mr Campbell’s home for about 10 minutes, she said.

But defense lawyer Scott Corish said Davies’ misperception of Campbell did not make the crime more serious.

“He… broke into Mr Campbell’s house, but it wasn’t simply because of that incorrect perception that he was a pedophile, there was a search for (the girl),” Mr Corish said.

“Your Honor would not be convinced that it was an aggravating factor.”

Expert evidence heard at the trial determined that Campbell’s cause of death was blunt force trauma, which caused bleeding in his brain.

Davies was unaware of Campbell’s existing injuries – which left him vulnerable to “re-bleeding” – when he punched him once, Corish said.

Mr Campbell was found dead at his home on Best Street (pictured) in Parkes on May 6, 2020.

‘It would be a much more serious scenario if the evidence clearly pointed to repeated blows to the head.

“In this case it is my opinion that it was a single blow to the head.”

Mr Corish said the defense team tried to give Mr Campbell some dignity during the trial.

“All trials are conducted in a hostile manner and the label ‘paedophile’ was used as part of the Parkes rumor mill,” he said.

“But at no point during the trial did we suggest that this was remotely accurate.”

Davies, dressed in black and with long hair, sat emotionless in the dock throughout the hearing.

Judge Michael Walton will sentence Davies in the coming weeks.