Broome man accused of restraining three children with cable ties believed youth were trespassing

A Broome tradie has argued the alleged restraint of three children with cable ties was lawful as he believed the minors were trespassing on his property.

Matej Radelic faced Broome Magistrate’s Court on Thursday after pleading not guilty to three counts of aggravated assault.

His case was distilled down to a single question: Was the use of force by Radelic reasonable and necessary to stop them committing an offence?

The incident at the Cable Beach home in March was live-streamed on social media, sending shockwaves across Australia.

The young children could be heard crying and calling out to their mum for help.

His lawyer Seamus Rafferty said Radelic called triple-0 immediately and told them he restrained the children with cable ties.

He argued at no point did the operator tell him to cut the restraints.

Despite, receiving multiple triple-0 calls from what was becoming an increasingly volatile situation, the court heard police gave the job a priority three.

It took officers 37 minutes to arrive, despite the address being five minutes from the station.

Children were complying with demands

During the hearing, the defence argued the use of cable ties was reasonable and necessary.

Radelic’s house had been broken into four times in the two months leading up to this incident.

Pavers from the pool area were thrown into windows causing more than $10,000 worth of damage.

On each occasion, the damage was thought to have been caused by children but no one was ever identified or charged.

This caused frustration to Radelic who can be heard on police body-worn camera saying: “There is more damage, you can see.”

“I spent over $10,000 fixing up all the windows. There is no consequence for anyone. Are they going to pay for it?”

Both parties agreed the children were trespassing when they entered the pool in the front yard, but all three are under the age of criminal responsibility in WA.

There is no suggestion they caused the previous damage to the property.

Radelic restrained the children with the intent of keeping them in his yard until police arrived, the court heard.

Rafferty argued he didn’t touch them once he put the cable ties on and there were no injuries.

“The detention was not effective” as one child managed to escape the restraints, meaning they were not bound tightly, Rafferty said.

The prosecution said there was no need for the cable ties as Radelic was able to order the young children out of the pool, and they were complying with his demands.

They said the police evidence of this was that the children stayed in the yard while he walked to his ute and retrieved cable ties.

Kimberly Magistrate Deen Potter has reserved his decision, and the matter will return to court in October.