An Australian man, Matej Radelic, has been found guilty of two counts of aggravated common assault after detaining three young children, aged six, seven, and eight, with cable ties for swimming in his backyard pool.
The incident, which took place in Broome in March, drew global attention after images of the restrained, distressed children surfaced.
The 46-year-old faced three charges of aggravated assault, with prosecutors labeling his actions as “dehumanizing” and unnecessary.
However, his legal team argued that he had made a “lawful” citizen’s arrest, as the children were trespassing on his property.
The Broome Magistrates Court acknowledged that the children had engaged in trespassing and criminal damage, but noted that all were under the age of criminal responsibility, which in Western Australia is set at 10 years old.
Magistrate Deen Potter found Radelic guilty of two of the three charges, acquitting him of the third, as the oldest child was restrained for a shorter period and left the scene after breaking free.
Radelic was fined A$2,000 ($1,368; £1,041), with the fine suspended for 12 months.
During the trial, an emergency services call made by Radelic was played, in which he informed the operator that the children were uninjured but “scared and crying.” The operator responded, “Yeah no wonder.”
Police bodycam footage showed Radelic expressing frustration to officers when they arrived, stating, “I mean, there’s no consequences for anything. What would you do?… If you think I need to go to jail, I will.”
Radelic’s lawyer, Seamus Rafferty, described his client as a “victim of crime,” citing four previous break-ins at his home in the months leading up to the incident, though there was no suggestion the detained children were involved.
Rafferty acknowledged that using cable ties on the children was “not a good look” but argued it was legal under the circumstances.
“This case is not about optics, not about emotion, race, or vigilantism,” Rafferty said, referring to police notes that had initially described the incident as a lawful citizen’s arrest.
However, police prosecutor Mícheál Gregg countered that Radelic’s actions were disproportionate, arguing that the children had complied with his instructions to leave the pool and sit down. “The circumstances simply weren’t there to justify any use of force,” Gregg said.
