In short:
A Tasmanian man has been jailed for assaulting a teenager and depriving him of his liberty by locking him in a shipping container.
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man → jail → container
Assisted by his brother, Wayne Michael Ludbey grabbed the teenager off the street, tied him up and assaulted him in 2023.
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Ludbey → assist → 2023
Ludbey has been sentenced to 14 months' jail, of which 10 months were suspended for two years.
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months → sentence → years
A Tasmanian man who left a teenager tied up in a locked shipping container, threatened him with a chainsaw to his neck and later told the boy's father, "you'll never see your son again" if supposedly stolen items weren't returned, a court has heard.
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court → leave → son
WARNING: This story contains details of violence that some readers may find distressing
On Friday, Wayne Michael Ludbey, 32, was jailed for what the judge described as "premeditated violence carried out for vindictive reasons".
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judge → contain → reasons
Ludbey pleaded guilty in the Supreme Court of Tasmania in Burnie to two counts of assault for the 2023 attack on the 17-year-old, which started around midday on September 12.
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which → plead → September
During sentencing, Justice Tamara Jago said that, despite the guilty plea, she did not accept that Ludbey had demonstrated remorse or shown insight into the seriousness of his crimes.
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Ludbey → say → crimes
Boy restrained, bashed, sprayed with hose
The court heard that Ludbey believed the teenager had been stealing from the shipping container on his property at Strahan on Tasmania's West Coast.
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teenager → restrain → Coast
Justice Jago told the court that on the day, Ludbey saw the boy and believed he was wearing work boots stolen from the container.
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he → tell → container
Ludbey then texted his wife: "I'm waiting for him, I'm going to get him".
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I → texte → him
About half an hour later, Ludbey confronted the teenager on the street and began assaulting him and attempted to force him into his nearby vehicle.
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Ludbey → confront → vehicle
Ludbey's younger brother Brady Ludbey then joined him in the attack, helping force the teenager into the car and allowing his elder brother to return to the driver's seat.
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brother → join → seat
The younger brother was previously sentenced for his lesser part in the assault.
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brother → sentence → assault
Justice Jago told the court Ludbey then drove the teenager to his property, accused him of the theft and demanded that his belongings be returned.
"The complainant had no idea what you were talking about, nor why you were accusing him,"the judge said.
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judge → tell → what
At the shipping container, the assault continued and the Ludbey brothers restrained the teenager with straps and zip ties bound around his hands and legs.
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brothers → continue → hands
Ludbey then started a chainsaw, revved it, and held the chain against the boy's neck while it was not moving.
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it → start → neck
He then bashed the boy with a piece of wood to his arms and head, causing several injuries.
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He → bash → injuries
After spraying the boy with a hose, Ludbey and his younger brother locked the container with a chain and padlock, leaving the boy tied up inside.
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Ludbey → spray → boy
"You left him trapped, wet, restrained and undoubtedly very frightened,"Justice Jago said.
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Jago → leave → him
The judge said a short time later that Ludbey, who had possession of the boy's phone, called the boy's father from it and issued the ultimatum about returning his possessions.
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who → say → possessions
"You said, 'I want my stuff back or you'll never see your son again'," Justice Jago said.
"
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Jago → say → son
You were prepared to utter emotional threats to the complainant's father.
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You → prepare → father
A short time later, Brady Ludbey freed the boy from the container, returned his phone and told him to go home.
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Ludbey → free → him
The boy was taken to hospital with minor physical injuries, but Justice Jago said she had no doubt the psychological harm was "significant" and that he would have been "deeply traumatised".
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he → take → doubt
Judge lashes man for 'lack of insight'
At the outset of proceedings, defence lawyer Greg Richardson said it was his "privilege" to provide the court with 49 separate character references from people who supported Ludbey.
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who → lash → Ludbey
Justice Jago, however, said she found it "difficult to reconcile" the letters praising Ludbey's character with his "egregious behaviour".
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it → say → behaviour
She said that generally, people who are described as pillars of their community "do not behave in this way", although his character was supported by the fact he had not committed similar crimes before or since the attack.
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he → say → attack
However, she said Ludbey had not shown remorse and had demonstrated "a serious lack of insight into the gravity" of his crimes.
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Ludbey → say → crimes
"This was premeditated violence carried out for vindictive reasons,"the judge said.
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judge → premeditate → ?
She sentenced Ludbey to 14 months' jail, of which 10 months were suspended for two years.
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months → sentence → years
In court, Ludbey was supported by more than a dozen people, several of whom became emotional when he was jailed.
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he → support → whom
The Aporia