Liam Loftus, Aaron Devereux and Benjamin Foy to contest Ballarat workplace bullying charges

Three Ballarat tradesmen will dispute parts of allegations made against them over the alleged serious workplace bullying of a 16-year-old apprentice.

Liam Loftus, Benjamin Foy, and Aaron Devereux are charged with endangering the life of a teenage apprentice in Ballarat.

Three Ballarat tradesmen are contesting elements of charges laid against them over the alleged workplace bullying of a teenage apprentice at a Bakery Hill business.

Liam Loftus, 25, Aaron Devereux, 23, and Benjamin Foy, 30, have all been accused of endangering the life of a 16-year-old while they were employed at Celsius Heating and Cooling.

The charges followed probes by Ballarat detectives into incidents at worksites in Alfredton, Brown Hill, and Sebastopol which spanned from September 2022 to early 2023.

Mr Foy, from Sebastopol, was charged with stalking, reckless conduct endangering a person, reckless assault causing injury, and unlawful assault.

Mr Devereux, of Alfredton, was charged with stalking, reckless conduct endangering a person, reckless assault causing injury, and unlawful assault.

Newington’s Mr Loftus was charged with reckless conduct endangering a person, reckless assault causing injury, and unlawful assault.

The Ballarat Magistrates’ Court heard on Thursday that the unlawful assault charges were dated to an incident on February 15.

Bail was extended for the three men, who will return for a contest mention in July.