Man jailed after assaulting his children on Father’s Day

A dad who assaulted his children on Father’s Day last year and has a history of harming his kids will be spending more time behind bars.

A man fronted Geelong Magistrates Court on Monday after assaulting his children on Father’s Day last year.

A father who kicked his daughter and has a history of harming his kids has been jailed to “protect his family”.

The man, 41, who cannot be named to protect the identity of his family, fronted the Geelong Magistrates Court on Monday and pleaded guilty to two charges of assault and breaching an adjourned undertaking.

On September 1 last year, the accused was at a home in Colac with his family for Father’s Day.

The man had been drinking throughout the afternoon and was intoxicated.

While his teenage son washed dishes in the kitchen, the man called him “fat” and “f***ot”.

The family then went to the garage to avoid the accused while he went to the living room but he later went to the garage and started to become aggressive.

The man then grabbed his son by his clothing, leaving bruises on his neck.

The man attempted to punch his son and when his teenage daughter tried to intervene, she was pushed to the ground and kicked to stay down.

The man then let go of his son who left the house but later returned to call police.

The man was arrested and taken to Colac police station where he made no comments when interviewed.

The man’s lawyer Jacob Mildren said his client had served 132 days in custody and had completed a number of parenting courses during this time.

Mr Mildren said the man had struggled with “long standing and ongoing” alcohol addiction and had periods of abstaining from alcohol and relapsing in recent years.

The man had completed six months at a residential rehab facility in late 2023 and into 2024 but had relapsed in about June last year.

“He struggles with his mental health, self-esteem and addiction and he wants to try to be a good parent and family member,” Mr Mildren said.

The police prosecutor told the court the man’s family had “been through hell” due to his offending.

“He has been victimising his family since 2018,” the prosecutor said.

“He needs to be deterred from ever hurting his children again.

“There needs to be something that shows him this is not okay … his family deserves better.”

Magistrate Peter Mellas accepted the man pleaded guilty to the charges but said he was a “risk” and that his family would be “marked for the rest of this lives” due to his offending.

“Your recent prior history is littered with incidents of you hurting your family, in particular your children,” he said.

“You’re someone who knows that when you drink, you’re more than likely to behave in a way which ends up hurting someone.

“You’ve tried to stop drinking … but you consistently return to alcohol use and that’s a choice.”

Mr Mellas sentenced the man to nine months in jail with 132 days reckoned as time served.

Had the man pleaded not guilty, he would have been sentenced to 16 months in jail with a non-parole period of 10 months.

Originally published as Man jailed after assaulting his children on Father’s Day