Broome tradesman Matej Radelic found guilty of assault after using cable ties to restrain children

A tradesman who used cable ties to restrain minors he believed were trespassing on his property in WA’s Kimberley has been found guilty of assault.

Matej Radelic, 46, used cable ties to restrain a six-year-old girl and two boys, aged seven and eight, at a home in Cable Beach, Broome, in March.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Broome tradie guilty of cable tie assaults.

He was charged with aggravated assault and previously pleaded not guilty to all three counts of the offence.

In a verdict handed down in Broome on Friday, the magistrate found Radelic had made lawful citizen’s arrests but that it was unreasonable to keep the children restrained for 37 minutes.

He was found guilty of assaulting two children — aged six and seven — and acquitted of a third assault against a child that escaped the restraints and ran.

Radelic was fined $2000, with the penalty suspended for 12 months.

The incident garnered national attention when it was live-streamed on social media, with the children heard crying out for their mum.

Police were called to the Cable Beach home following reports children had been trespassing in the swimming pool.

The court was told it took officers 37 minutes to arrive, despite the address being five minutes from the station.

The triple-0 operator marked the call a priority three, which contributed to the delayed response

Speaking outside court on Friday, Radelic blamed the police.

When officers arrived at the home on Conkerberry Rd, officers found two of the children restrained. A third child fled but was found soon after.

St John paramedics checked the children over before they were reunited with family.

Radelic called triple-0 straight away to tell police he had restrained the children with cable ties but was not told by the operator to remove them, his lawyer previously told Broome Magistrate’s Court.

Radelic had restrained the children to keep tabs on them until police arrived and they were not touched once the ties were on, his defence claimed.

Radelic’s lawyers argued the use of cable ties was reasonable and necessary.

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.

Both parties previously agreed the children were trespassing when they entered the pool, which is located in the front yard of the property.

All three children are under the age of criminal responsibility in WA.

Radelic argued he was only protecting his property, which had been broken into four times in two months leading up to the incident.

More than $10,000 of damage was done when pavers from the pool area were launched into windows.

Children were thought to have caused the damage on those previous occasions but no one was identified or charged.

There is no suggestion the children in this case caused the previous damage to the property.