Celsius Heating and Cooling apprentice ‘completely changed’ after ‘cruel and terrifying’ bullying, court hears

The mother of a teenage Ballarat apprentice who was held in a makeshift noose at a worksite has told a court how her son was ‘completely changed’ by the traumatic ordeal.

Ballarat plumber Benjamin Foy, 31, was found guilty of reckless conduct endangering serious injury and assault.

The mother of a tormented Ballarat apprentice says she feels she has failed her son after he was bullied by colleagues at a Bakery Hill heating and cooling business.

Plumber Benjamin Foy, 31, was found guilty of reckless conduct endangering serious injury and assault after a contested hearing at Ballarat Magistrates’ Court earlier this year.

His victim was a teenage apprentice at Celsius Heating and Cooling, which Foy’s father owned and where Foy also worked.

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

At a worksite in February 2023, he was involved with two other tradesmen in a “noose incident”, whereby Foy and another man held the apprentice in a noose made of tape so that his neck held his body weight for about two seconds.

Celsius Heating and Cooling on Main Rd, Bakery Hill.

A statement by the victim’s mother was read to the court on Tuesday.

She said her “vibrant young teenager” had “become withdrawn and completely changed” by the ordeal.

She said she trusted her son would be looked after as a young apprentice, but now feared he would be unable to hold down long-term employment.

The mother said she stayed awake at night blaming herself for his trauma.

“It is like having a constant knot in my stomach that never goes away,” she said.

Prosecutors described Foy’s behaviour as “cruel and terrifying”.

Foy will be assessed for a community correction order and will be sentenced on September 9.