A Melbourne dad stormed a school and punched one of his son’s bullies in the face before tracking down the father of the other bully within the hour and bashing him too.
Bobby Backman, 39, felt he had to take matters into his own hands on March 11 last year after his son told him he had been threatened with a knife and forced to kneel in the toilets at Pakenham Secondary College “at the feet” of his school bullies.
Details of the brutal attacks against the 16-year-old boy and the other boy’s father, who was at home at the time, were revealed in the County Court this week where Backman owned up to his “angry outburst”.
During his pre-sentence hearing on Tuesday, prosecutor James Sutherland said Backman’s son called him on the morning of March 11 to complain about the bullying.
The court heard Backman and his former partner had alerted the school to the bullying, but their son continued to be targeted.
Mr Sutherland said Backman arrived at the school about 11.15am and approached a group of students who were standing on the basketball courts.
He walked up to the 16-year-old boy and punched him in the face before demanding to know where the other bully was.
“Several teachers at the school sought to de-escalate the situation by attempting to move Mr Backman to another part of the school,” Mr Sutherland said.
By 11.27am, Backman had left the school with his son.
But less than half an hour later, Backman was at the home of the other bully.
He knocked and started yelling before opening the unlocked door and entering the home.
He then struck the father to the face, causing him to lose consciousness.
His defence barrister Lauren Bull said he was suffering mental health issues at the time of the bullying, which had created a “perfect storm”.
“On the day of the offending, Mr Backman experienced severe distress, helplessness and horror when his son advised him that the assailants had attacked him again,” she said, reading from a psychological report.
“This appears to have precipitated the onset of an angry outburst.”
Ms Bull told the court the self-employed labourer had complied with his bail since he was charged and had no criminal history.
Backman pleaded guilty to two counts of common law assault, aggravated burglary and entering a public place without authorisation or excuse.
He was convicted and sentenced on Thursday to an 18-month community corrections order.
Judge Kevin Doyle told Backman this type of offending typically resulted in a term of imprisonment.
He said the assaults on the victims were “serious”, especially since he was a “grown man” heading into a school to assault a student.
But he said taking into account the context and his circumstances, a CCO was appropriate.
“It’s not excuse, but it does provide an explanation for why you acted the way that you did,” Judge Doyle said of the bullying.
As part of his CCO, Backman will have to complete 220 hours of unpaid community work.
“It’s unlikely that the criminal courts will see you again,” Judge Doyle said.