Noosaville Christian missionary in court for coward punching a 15yo

A Christian missionary has faced Noosa Magistrates Court after taking offence to a verbal insult from a 15-year-old boy and punching him as he turned away.

Dennis Bradford Cole at Noosa Magistrates Court on Tuesday , January 7, 2023.

A 32-year-old Christian missionary has faced court for punching a boy, 15, “without warning” outside a Noosaville gym after a verbal barb from the teen.

Dennis Bradford Cole pleaded guilty in Noosa Magistrates Court on Tuesday, February 7 to one charge of unlawful assault at Lime Fitness Club Noosaville at 1pm on January 2, 2023.

Police Prosecutor Allison Johnstone said the 15-year-old was looking over his shoulder prior to being punched.

Caught on CCTV footage, cameras show a witness intervening and introducing the two by name before they shook hands after Cole had taken offence to being called a “retard” by the boy and thrown the punch.

The court was told the witness said “now that you know each other, you’re both retards”.

“He thought the situation was resolved and so did the victim,” Sergeant Johnstone said.

The footage shows the 15-year-old stood still and “looks away as if he is about to leave but is knocked from standing to flat on his back” landing a couple of metres into the gym foyer, where he lay dazed.

Sergeant Johnstone said the punch and its force appeared to “completely surprise the victim”, who “does not appear to be aggressive or threatening towards the defendant on the CCTV.”

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Barrister David Cole referred to a “medical incident” in 2020 he said his client was recovering from.

Magistrate Matthew McLaughlin conferred “a mental health episode last year from abusing illicit drugs may still be having some effect on your judgment” as “the closest we will ever get to an explanation for it”.

He also referenced a letter from Cole’s parents.

“Curious that the letters from your mother and father mention that you’re involved with them in what I would be probably be right in describing as some sort of Christian missionary organisation, where you travel to far corners of the world to spread the Christian faith and so on,” Magistrate McLaughlin said.

“Which rather flies in the face of your behaviour on this day, which was most un-Christian, I must say.”

Magistrate McLaughlin said the punch was “a cowardly thing to do” and “totally unjustified”.

“You can’t punch someone in the head because they call you a retard,” he told the court.

“I can give you a list of things people call me in the courtroom when I’ve done things to them like send them to jail, and I don’t jump up and punch them.”

Cole was fined $500 and made to pay an additional $500 compensation.

No conviction was recorded.