Tyler Castles spends son’s first birthday in custody after allegedly dragging woman into alley

A Ballarat man allegedly tried to kiss and then threatened to kill a woman whom he had dragged into an alleyway, a court has heard.

Tyler Castles, 28, appeared in Ballarat Magistrates Court on July 21, 2023. Photo: Facebook

A Soldiers Hill dad missed his son’s first birthday after he was arrested for allegedly dragging a woman into an alley and threatening her.

Tyler Castles, 28, appeared in Ballarat Magistrates’ Court on Monday.

The court heard Mr Castles was walking home from Rafters nightclub in Ballarat about 2am on July 29.

He was with a woman in her 50s, whom he asked to accompany him for drinks.

The woman was on the phone to her sister at the time.

The two were on Dana St when Mr Castles allegedly attempted to kiss the woman, who was leaning against a wall.

She told Mr Castles she was old and asked him to go away.

Mr Castles said he “had a girlfriend but she would not care” and allegedly became “very forceful”, taking the woman three or four steps down an alleyway after she noticed a nearby police car.

“If you f–-king scream, I’ll f–king kill you,” he allegedly told her.

Mr Castles pushed the woman against the wall with his bodyweight, the court heard.

During the altercation, the woman’s sister allegedly heard Mr Castles say, “I’ll feel your boobs and I’ll know how old you are”.

She tried to break his grip and get part of her body into the street and visible before screaming, alerting nearby police who saw her running towards them from the alley, the court heard.

Mr Castles was later arrested and was said to have been “highly substance-affected”.

He removed his clothing and hit his head against the walls of his cell until about 5.30am when he calmed down.

Mr Castles later said he was buying drugs off the woman.

He was bailed and will appear in court at a later date.