Army vet punched son after condom incident

AN army veteran punched his teenage son in the eye and beat him after finding out the boy wiped a stranger’s used condom on his sister.

The Southport Magistrates Court was told the man, 45, who cannot be named for legal reasons, “lost his cool” when he assaulted his 15-year-old son twice on March 16 this year.

The court was told an argument erupted at the family house after the man was told by his daughter that the boy had wiped a condom on her when walking to school that morning.

The boy ran to the door, but the man gave chase and pushed him to the ground. As the boy tried to get up he was punched in the eye, the court was told.

He was told to go to his room and, shortly after, his father followed him there.

The teen was struck a number of times to his back as he laid on his bed with his hands over his head trying to protect himself.

Detectives became involved after bruising to his eye was noticed. The boy also suffered abrasions to the back.

The father admitted to the assault and told police “he just lost his cool”.

He told them his child was constantly playing up.

The man pleaded guilty in Southport Magistrates Court on Friday to two counts of assault occasioning bodily harm.

Magistrate Mark Howden described the assaults as violent but said the material tendered to the court suggested he was a “very caring father”.

The man was ordered to 18 months’ probation with no convictions recorded.

Solicitor Dave Garratt, of Howden Saggers Lawyers, said what led to the offence was the rubbing of the used condom on the girl’s face, not her leg, as the police had said.

Mr Garratt said it was a simple case of domestic discipline gone too far. “(The man is) obviously trying to teach his son respect, rubbing a used condom in his sister’s face … is not a respectful act,” he said.

He said it was a one-off incident and the man was remorseful.