A trader who allegedly restrained three Aboriginal children with cable ties and threatened to ‘hit them with a big stick’ has been arrested after a clip of the incident was shared on social media.
Shocking footage broadcast live on Facebook showed Matej Radelic appearing to use plastic ties to tie up the wrists of a girl, just six years old, with two boys, aged seven and eight, outside a house in Broome on Tuesday afternoon. Western Australia.
Harrowing images shared on the social media platform showed the children, whose arms were all tied together, sobbing as they were forced onto the concrete by an angry Radelic in a sweltering 33 degrees Celsius.
The trader, who heads an air conditioning installation company, is said to have caught the children swimming in an outdoor pool at his parents’ vacant house, which was for sale.
The 45-year-old was charged by Western Australia police on Wednesday with three counts of aggravated assault and will appear in court on March 25.
Meanwhile, his company’s website has been taken down after it was bombarded with one-star Google reviews from social media users sickened by the video.
This morning Rowena – mother of little Stuart, seven, and Margaret, six – said Radelic’s alleged actions were a ‘disgrace’ and asked him if he had any children of his own to consider how they might cope in a similar situation would feel.
‘When I stood behind a fence and saw my children tied up like that, it was an emotion of ‘what can I do?’ we just had to wait for the police,” Rowena told A Current Affair.
The six-year-old girl and seven-year-old boy were bound with cable ties at the Broome property on Tuesday afternoon
A photo on Facebook showed three children tied up and tied together with plastic ties
Matej Radelic has been charged with three counts of assault
The clip of the incident was filmed by a relative of the captured children and streamed live on Facebook.
She begged Radelic to free them, but the tradie refused, saying he would hold them until the police arrived, pushing her away as he did so.
The relative said the children knew it was wrong to enter the property, but said they were “just kids” trying to cool off on a hot day.
Narrating the ordeal to the Western Australian Writing in the newspaper earlier today, the relative said: ‘When we tried to walk in there to get them, he pushed me and my mother out of the garden.
“When we stopped there, and when that guy pushed me out of the fence… the little (eight-year-old) boy broke the zip ties with his hands and then jumped over the fence and ran down. away.
“It was just disturbing, we were so angry because (the tradie) just yelled at him and told him to let them go, but he just wouldn’t listen to us.”
The relative added that one of the detained children claimed their captor told them he would “hit them with a big stick.”
In the video footage, Radelic can be heard complaining to the person who recorded him as he tried to justify his actions.
“They’re on my property,” he raged.
“It’s not the first time – six times (this has happened).”
The children were eventually released by police officers who arrived on the scene, and were later assessed by paramedics from St. John Ambulance before being reunited with their families.
Radelic, meanwhile, was immediately arrested and brought in for questioning.
Witness Leandra McKenzie said The children were clearly in distress.
“They were scared, they were crying, shaking and singing to their mother,” she said.
“It would have taken more than an hour… we were yelling at him to release them, but he just wouldn’t give up.”
Western Australia (WA) Children and Youth Commissioner Jacqueline McGowan-Jones said she was “shocked” by the footage.
‘It looks like these are very young and small children. Given the circumstances, they appear to be quite scared. He’s quite a big man. And they seem to be very nervous,” she told ABC Radio Perth.
‘These children are only six and seven. They do not have the neurological development to understand cause and effect, consequences and actions. And that is legally known.’
WA Greens senator and former police officer Dorinda Cox said the images were disturbing and confrontational.
“We can never be okay with seeing children as young as six being humiliated, having their little wrists tied and leaving them crying in the hot sun,” she said.
“As a mother, watching these children beg for their freedom and live in fear was like watching a slow replay of the historic, racially based abuse experienced by previous generations of First Nations people.”
Rowena (pictured), mother of little Stuart, seven, and Margaret, six, said the trader’s alleged actions were a ‘disgrace’ and she desperately asked him if he had children of his own to think about how they felt would feel in a similar situation. situation
In the video footage, Radelic can be heard complaining to the person who recorded him as he tried to justify his actions
The tradie who allegedly tied up the children (photo) has been arrested
WA Greens senator and former police officer Dorinda Cox (pictured) said the images were disturbing and confrontational
Acting Assistant Police Commissioner Rod Wilde said Radelic’s use of force against the children was disproportionate.
“Children under the age of 10 are not criminally responsible,” he said.
“We are in discussions with the parents of the children… They certainly want the trial to proceed smoothly.”
Wilde said police were initially contacted at 1.35pm on Tuesday by a neighbor who saw the children swimming in an ‘unoccupied’ pool.
“About ten minutes later, police received a call from a male subject who (reportedly) said he had restrained three children for causing damage in that backyard,” Deputy Commissioner Wilde said.
“Police located two children at that time – one had left – who were (allegedly) tied up with cables in that property.”
Police claimed a fourth boy had also been in the pool, but managed to flee and alert family members to what was happening, prompting the young girl’s relative to confront Radelic outside the property.
In the wake of the incident, a spokesperson for local Aboriginal title group Nyamba Buru Yawuru called on Broome residents and service providers to show support for the children involved and their families.
“Yawuru and our community are very concerned about these children,” Taliah Payne said.
“Our hope for the future is that we come together as a community and ensure Broome is a safe place for all our children.”