Benjamin Foy faces contested hearing at Ballarat court over alleged bullying of apprentice

A contested hearing is underway into the alleged bullying of a teenage Ballarat apprentice that included allegations of being pulled and dragged by the hair.

A tradesman has pleaded not guilty to bullying an apprentice of a Ballarat heating and cooling business.

A contested hearing has begun over the alleged bullying of a teenage apprentice while he worked at a Bakery Hill heating and cooling business.

Benjamin Foy, 31, appeared at Ballarat Magistrates’ Court on Monday in relation to the alleged bullying of a first-year apprentice while both worked at Celsius Heating and Cooling in early 2023.

Mr Foy pleaded not guilty to charges of recklessly cause injury, unlawful imprisonment, and assault.

The court heard the alleged victim, now 18, began to be bullied about a month after starting at the business.

On one occasion, Mr Foy allegedly pulled the apprentice by the hair and dragged him around to show him he had not done his work properly.

Mr Foy told police he used an open hand and grabbed only the teen’s head, not his hair, to push it downwards.

On February 15, 2023, it is alleged Mr Foy was involved with two other tradesmen in what was termed the “noose incident”.

At a job site in Alfredton, Mr Foy and another man are alleged to have lowered the apprentice into a noose made of blue tape tied to a truss so that his neck held his body weight for about two seconds.

Celsius Heating and Cooling in Ballarat. Photo: Google Maps

Afterwards, the apprentice went outside and messaged his girlfriend, saying he “just got f--king hung before”.

“F--kwit tied a noose and three picked me up and put me in and hung me for three seconds,” he said.

“ … I’ve done most of this job and they do that, so I said f--k youse all and left.

“It’s f--king bullshit, I need a new job.”

The apprentice told the court the three men had “done a lot of stuff to me before” but he “didn’t really know what was going to happen – if they were really going to do it or not”.

He also told the co-owner of Celsius Heating and Cooling that “the boys went too far” but that he “didn’t want to get anyone in trouble”.

The apprentice’s mother also phoned the company, nominating Mr Foy among others.

The co-owner met with the three accused tradesmen the next day, had them fill out incident reports, and issued them written warnings.

The incident was reported to police on February 16.

The hearing will continue on Tuesday.

Mr Foy told police “they all f--k around at work, just picking on each other whenever they get a chance to”.

He said the complainant was “just as guilty as the rest of them” and that his mum “kicked up a stink”.

Mr Foy said the apprentice had commented prior to the noose incident that “you can hang yourself over this manhole” and that another worker then made a noose before the apprentice put his head into it.

He said it “obviously wasn’t the case” they were trying to genuinely hang the teenager.

“Obviously it was unacceptable,” he said, denying there was pressure on the apprentice’s head.

“They do stupid shit and send it to each other on Snapchat,” he said.

Mr Foy said the complainant “always wants us to stop so he can put it on Snapchat”.

A doctor observed a faint red line on the alleged victim’s neck about 5cm long following the incident, and the teen was assessed as having “extremely severe anxiety” and “moderate stress and depression”.

The hearing will continue throughout the week.