Arabic version: سجن رجل من تسمانيا بسبب الاعتداء على مراهق داخل حاوية شحن

According to ABC News, Wayne Michael Ludbey has been sentenced to 14 months in jail over a 2023 assault on a 17-year-old in Strahan, Tasmania. Ten months of the sentence were suspended for two years after Ludbey pleaded guilty in the Supreme Court of Tasmania in Burnie to two counts of assault.

Justice Tamara Jago said the 32-year-old’s conduct was “premeditated violence carried out for vindictive reasons”. The attack began around midday on September 12, 2023, after Ludbey believed the teenager had been stealing from a shipping container on his property and was wearing work boots taken from it.

The court heard Ludbey confronted the teenager on the street, assaulted him and tried to force him into a nearby vehicle. His younger brother, Brady Ludbey, joined the assault and helped force the boy into the car. Wayne Ludbey drove the teenager to his property, where the brothers restrained him with straps and zip ties around his hands and legs.

Ludbey started and revved a chainsaw, holding its non-moving chain against the teenager’s neck, the court heard. He also struck the boy’s arms and head with a piece of wood, sprayed him with a hose, and locked him in the shipping container while he was wet and restrained. Ludbey later used the teenager’s phone to call his father and demand the return of his belongings.

Brady Ludbey later freed the teenager, returned his phone and told him to go home. The teenager was taken to hospital with minor physical injuries, while Justice Jago said the psychological harm was significant and he would have been deeply traumatised. The judge said Ludbey had not demonstrated remorse or insight into the seriousness of his crimes.