Mildura court told drunk father encouraged children to fight
A father has encouraged two sons — both under the age of seven — to fight each other, telling one “that’s not enough” as he was delivering 30 blows to the other boy, who was left on the ground crying.
Mildura
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A drunk father stood over his two children who were fighting and encouraged them, telling one to “f**king give it to him”, a court has heard.
The dad, who was 37 at the time, pleaded guilty to inciting assault at Mildura Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.
Police told the court the father had been drinking alcohol throughout the day on December 29 last year.
Two of his sons, both under the age of seven, got into an argument about 8.30pm before “sparring” with each other.
When the mother tried to intervene, the father pushed her out of the way and said, “I’ll say when it’s enough.”
The mother, said to be in fear for the victim, began recording the incident.
Video played to the court showed the father, wearing only black underwear, watching close by as one son was on top of the other throwing punches to his face.
The father was heard saying: “That’s not enough … give it to him, f**king give it to him.”
Crying and screaming could be heard throughout the video.
After about a minute, the father said “that’s enough” and nudged the son who was on top with his foot.
The other son remained on the ground crying.
Police said the child on the ground was hit about 30 times, sustaining a blood nose and becoming extremely distraught as a result of the incident.
Other children were in the house, who were also said to be distraught.
Police were provided with the footage on January 8 and stopped the father while driving later that day, after which he recorded a blood-alcohol level of .051.
The father’s defence lawyer said he had seen the error of his ways and had since participated in a men’s behaviour change program, with a perfect attendance record after 20 sessions.
The court was told he was now more patient, had “moved on with his life” and become engaged with a new partner.
“His dad dealt with him in a ‘tough love’ fashion … he’s seen the effect of that on his children,” the lawyer said.
Magistrate Michael Coghlan said he would take into account participation in the behaviour change program because steps needed to be taken to ensure the same behaviour didn’t happen again.
The father was sentenced to 120 hours of unpaid community work.
He is disqualified from obtaining a licence for six months.
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