Kiwi lifesaving champ's KFC stunt 'traumatised my girl', says father

Surf lifesaver Kane Sefton says he has been shamed on social media. Photo / George Novak

A Kiwi lifesaving champ has been branded gutless by the father of little girl hit by flying tub of KFC coleslaw.

The father, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said his four-year-old daughter is still traumatised by the incident and he voiced his anger that the culprit, New Zealand lifesaving champion Kane Jacob Sefton, had tried to portray himself as the victim.

Sefton, 17, from Tauranga, was yesterday ordered to pay $750 in fines and compensation after he was found guilty of public nuisance and wilful damage.

Sefton threw the coleslaw out of moving vehicle while on the Sunshine Coast during the Australia Surf Life Saving championships.

His lawyer, Alicia Thomas, said he had been publicly shamed on social media and had paid a high price for a spontaneous act.

"He was so upset about it that he wanted to apologise to the child in particular," she said. "He feels extremely badly about what happened."

However, the girl's father said in a statement outside of court that he had no sympathy for Sefton.

He said the incident had a lasting impact on his daughter.

"Not once has the offender reached out to our family to apologise," he said. "His lawyer came out and said the public shaming he has had through social media has had a big impact on his life.

"He's not the victim, the poor little 4-year-old girl who keeps bringing up the time someone threw 'yucky stuff all over me' is the victim.

"The dad who is now always conscious of where he parks the car and conscious of opening the door to let his children out, is the victim.

"Not some gutless guy who thinks throwing a whole container of coleslaw out of a moving vehicle smashing all over a 4-year-old girl and her father.

"For him to not offer one apology to our family just shows how gutless he really is.

"The container exploded on impact. People in their house over 100 metres away came over saying it sounded like a beer bottle had exploded.

"Shards of plastic and coleslaw smashed all over my 4-year-old daughter and myself. The container was almost unrecognisable.

"My wife thought we had been side swiped by a car. And he is upset about a public shaming on social media? Really?"

Sentencing Sefton at Maroochydore Magistrates Court in Australia, Magistrate Haydn Stjernqvist said he took into account Sefton's previously clean record, that the behaviour had been "out of character" and the effect of public shaming.

"This would be something you wouldn't be repeating in the future," Mr Stjernqvist said.

- Additional reporting Sunshine Coast Daily