Queensland dad in court for choking teenage boy he believed was bullying his stepdaughter
A QUEENSLAND firefighter, who was caught on camera choking a teenage boy he claims was bullying his stepdaughter, has a message for other parents.
A QUEENSLAND firefighter who choked a teenage boy he claims was bullying his stepdaughter has a message for any would-be parent vigilantes: “Just don’t do it.”
Mark David Bladen pleaded guilty in Brisbane Magistrates Court on Tuesday to one count of assault occasioning bodily harm at a skate park at The Gap, in Brisbane’s west, on March 3.
He was sentenced to pay $1000 with no conviction recorded after the court heard he had an exemplary history, including a commendation for his work in Rockhampton in February 2015 following Cyclone Marcia.
The court heard he told police he just “snapped” when he attacked the 14-year-old boy, who he claims had been bullying his stepdaughter for months so she was too scared to go to school.
The court heard Bladen confronted the boy before grabbing him around the throat and holding him on the ground, causing him to begin to lose consciousness.
The fight was eventually broken up by the victim’s friends, one of whom recorded the incident on their mobile phone.
The boy suffered bruising to his throat and scratches to his limbs.
Bladen later told police he was “aghast” at his behaviour, and he apologised outside court to the victim.
“I’m very sorry for what I did, very regretful and ashamed,” he said. “Please don’t do what I did, I just lost control. It’s definitely not the way to handle things.”
— AAP