Man pleads guilty to common assault in Bundaberg

A former miner who lifted his teenage step-daughter by the neck and put another girl in a headlock told a court he was “distraught” over his violent actions.

The step-dad pleaded guilty to grabbing his 16-year-old daughter by the throat.

A North Queensland man who once worked as a miner has been sentenced over a violent attack on his step-daughter and her friend.

The Mackay-born man, aged in his 40s, appeared in the Bundaberg District Court via video link from Proserpine on Wednesday where he pleaded guilty to one count of common assault (domestic violence offence) and another count of common assault.

The court heard that in Bundaberg on February 21, 2020, the man had been in a house in Bundaberg with his 16-year-old step-daughter and her friend, when his step-daughter accidentally overfilled a deep fryer, resulting in oil spilling on to the floor.

The man called his step-daughter an “idiot”, grabbing her by the neck and lifting her off the ground “towards the ceiling” before dropping her.

The girl’s friend tried to intervene, and the defendant placed her in a headlock.

Both girls suffered sore necks in the wake of the onslaught.

It was heard the former miner had a history of assault-type offences, but that he felt “distraught” over his attack on the two women.

Judge Michael Burnett sentenced him to 12 months’ probation.

Convictions were recorded.

The man could not be identified to protect the identity of his victim.