Vigilante dad fined after confronting teens who bashed his 15-year-old son

A Gold Coast dad who confronted a group of teens for head stomping his son lashed out with a wooden stake when surrounded by the group.

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A GOLD Coast dad who confronted a group of teens for head stomping his son lashed out with a wooden stake when surrounded by the group.

The father struck one of the boys on the elbow twice with the stake leaving him uninjured.

The dad, who cannot be named in order to protect his son, was fined $500 with no conviction recorded.

He was trying to help his son, 15, who had been bullied by the group and then beaten up twice in one afternoon.

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A prosecutor told the Southport Magistrates Court that “youth gangs” were hanging out in Southport regularly.

The boy who the father struck with the stake was recognised by the magistrate sentencing the dad as a teen who frequented the Southport Children’s Court.

The 48-year-old father pleaded guilty in the Southport Magistrates Court on Thursday to one count of assault occasioning bodily harm.

Magistrate Cameron McKenzie said: “It was vigilante type conduct. I understand the reasons for it but still he cannot put himself in that position.”

Mr McKenzie said by not allowing police to deal with the situation the father had put himself, his son, the teens and the public at risk.

“The court cannot condone your position,” he said. “Look after your children but look after them the right way.”

Prosecutor Bob Falconer told the court that the father’s 15-year-old son was in Australia Fair on February 2 last year when he was assaulted by a group of youths over some money.

The boy escaped but the group caught up with him and assaulted him again, including stomping on his head.

His boy and his father went to police to report the incident.

While the pair were at police the father’s other son spotted the teens in the Broadwater Parklands.

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The father tried twice to get police to go speak to the group but they did not. So the father instead approached the teens.

The teens began to surround the father so he asked a juvenile with him to go and get a wooden stake from his car.

That juvenile returned with the stake and a metal bar. The father was not aware he had the bar.

The father then swung the timber at the teens and struck one on the elbow.

The juvenile threw the metal bar at the teen who jumped and tripped, leaving him grazed.

Mr Falconer said none of the injuries were attributable to the father.

“There are what I call youth gangs who are attending Southport on a regular basis,” Mr Falconer said.

Defence lawyer Lisa Searing, of Allen & Searing Criminal Lawyers, said the father’s son had been bullied at school by the boy.

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She said since the incident the boy had to be pulled from school as he was being tormented and their other children were driven to and from school for safety.

“They are very afraid of bringing them into Southport,” she said.

Ms Searing said the family were still dealing with the repercussions from the incident.

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