Man in 40s pleads guilty in Warwick Magistrates Court to common assault

A former boilermaker has faced court after the search for a missing remote ended in an assault.

A man has faced court for assaulting his stepson over a missing remote control.

A former boilermaker’s rough handling of a young child left him with a court date, a hefty fine and a raft of problems for the family.

The man – who cannot be named to protect the identity of the victim – faced Warwick Magistrates Court on September 2, following an assault incident that happened on May 28 of this year.

Police prosecutor Sergeant Steve de Lissa said the man was essentially a stepfather to the nine-year-old child.

“At about 8pm, (the man) asked the child to find the remote, but the child didn’t want to, and ran to a room,” Sergeant de Lissa said.

“He grabbed the child and pushed him onto the bed and hit his right eye,” he said.

Sergeant de Lissa told the court he had made admissions to police he was “pissed off at the child” but didn’t intentionally hit the child.

Defence lawyer Clare Hine agreed with that sentiment, describing the affair involving her client, a former Brisbane-based boilermaker, as an accident.

The court was told the victim had misplaced the remote and began to annoy a sibling, Ms Hine said.

“(He) has pulled the child by his collar and said to stop razzing up his sibling, and then toppled over onto him,” Ms Hine said.

“(He) has whacked the child in the face.”

Ms Hine said the family had “suffered” in the aftermath of the offence, with child safety having to get involved in the matter.

The lawyer described the event as “one disaster after another,” and noted the man had prior domestic violence offence history.

The man pleaded guilty to one charge of common assault, downgraded from a charge of assault occasioning bodily harm.

Magistrate Janice Crawford said she accepted the fact that there was “no issues” until this year where the child became rebellious and “more oppositional”.

“I see that you directed the child to find the remote and he began to annoy his sibling, you yelled at him to get out and stop creating drama,” Ms Crawford said.

“You grabbed him by the collar, and I accept you fell onto the bed, I accept there was no malice.

“I note your early plea and see the unique circumstances of the offending.”

The man was fined $750, with no conviction recorded.

Originally published as Man in 40s pleads guilty in Warwick Magistrates Court to common assault