Andrew Hilton: Former lifeguard ‘flipped out’ over stalker label

A Ballarat man was branded a stalker and lost his invite to a social occasion, so he kicked down a door and beat a man with a broom, a court has heard.

A former lifeguard who smashed his way into a house and beat a man with a broom after he was “socially rejected” has avoided jail.

Andrew Hilton, 35, became “emotional and angry” after receiving a message from an associate telling him not to come over on May 20 last year and labelling him a “stalker”.

He drove to a Ballarat property where several members of the friend group were, kicking down the front door and threatening to kill a man.

“Why are you talking s … about me? I’m going to kill you,” he said before launching into an “immediate” frenzied attack.

He picked up a broom and hit the man five or six times while he tried to defend himself – breaking the handle over his forearm in the process.

Luckily his victim escaped with minor injuries, including bruising on his arm and face.

Later the same afternoon, Hilton handed himself into the Ballarat Police Station, telling officers he had “flipped out” when he was called a stalker.

He denied assaulting the man, claiming he only intended to “scare” them.

The West Australian man had moved to Ballarat in 2017, and fell back into drug and alcohol abuse after losing his job in construction during Covid-19 restrictions.

Hilton returned before the County Court on Friday for sentencing after pleading guilty to aggravated burglary, criminal damage and assault.

The court heard his “low-self esteem” and mental health issues had left him in a vulnerable state, leading to the emotional outburst and offending.

“The social rejection that seems to be the trigger for this offending seems to have had a greater impact on you than the average person,” Judge Justin Hannebery said.

“Your actions caused fear to the victims of your offending. Nevertheless I also find the steps you have taken to rehabilitate yourself to be an important sentencing consideration.”

The court heard despite more than 90 per cent of people recently sentenced for aggravated burglary receiving imprisonment, there were “significant” reasons Hilton should not.

He was sentenced to a community corrections order for three years, with mental health and drug treatment and 250 hours of community work.