Newington plumber Liam Loftus binds Ballarat apprentice’s feet, makes noose at workplace

A brutal Ballarat tradie was involved in the mock hanging of an apprentice, including making a noose of tape and binding the teenager’s feet together.

Liam Loftus, 26, faced Ballarat Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday and admitted to reckless conduct.

A Ballarat tradie made a noose out of tape and bound the feet of an apprentice who was subjected to a mock lynching while on the job.

Liam Loftus, a 26-year-old plumber from Newington, was one of three men accused of bullying a teenage apprentice while employed at Celsius Heating and Cooling.

He appeared in Ballarat Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, where it was heard that

on February 15, 2023, Loftus, along with two co-accused and the apprentice, were working at an Alfredton address.

About 11am, they were installing ducts in the property’s roof.

Loftus bound the apprentice’s feet and fashioned a noose out of tape.

The teenager was then enticed to put his head in the noose, and did so “feeling peer pressure”.

Loftus and another man lifted the apprentice’s feet off the ground, causing pressure to be applied to his neck, which he felt for two seconds.

The court heard the apprentice, who continued working afterwards, stated that one man filmed the incident.

The ordeal was reported to police the next day.

Liam Loftus.

Police seized phones from the accused men and found relevant Snapchat videos.

The apprentice sustained redness to his neck and was said to have severe anxiety and moderate depression.

When interviewed by police, Loftus denied lifting the apprentice off the ground.

Defence lawyer Adrian Paull said the apprentice’s weight was “at no time” borne by his neck.

He said Loftus told his employer about the incident and described holding the apprentice “like a baby”.

“While it’s egregious and it’s conduct that is troubling, as far as an example of this offence, in my submission it’s at the lower end of the spectrum,” Mr Paull said.

He said it was an isolated incident between Loftus and the apprentice, and that it was not clear his client’s actions were the sole cause of the teenager’s anxiety or depression.

Mr Paull said Loftus never shied away from his involvement in the incident.

The court heard Loftus laughed at the suggestion he should write the apprentice an apology letter, which Mr Paull said was due to a miscommunication and Loftus’s mistaken belief the complainant was changing his story.

Loftus pleaded guilty to reckless conduct, but was denied diversion.

Instead he was placed on an undertaking of good behaviour for a year and ordered to make a $1000 donation to the court fund.

He was not convicted.

Following the court decision, the apprentice’s mother said she was “disappointed” and felt a more serious punishment, including a conviction, was warranted.

“He is very up and down,” she said of her son.

“It really has affected him.

“He’ll never be the same again.”