A Tasmanian man, Wayne Michael Ludbey, has been jailed for 14 months with 10 months suspended for two years, after he was found guilty of assaulting a teenager in 2023. The attack occurred on September 12, when Ludbey, assisted by his brother Brady, restrained and assaulted the 17-year-old, threatening him with a chainsaw to his neck and demanding that the boy's father return allegedly stolen items. According to the court, Ludbey believed the teenager was stealing from his shipping container property in Strahan, Tasmania. The judge described Ludbey's actions as "premeditated violence carried out for vindictive reasons".
Written by the local model on 2026-08-21,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
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.
asserted
man → jail → container
Assisted by his brother, Wayne Michael Ludbey grabbed the teenager off the street, tied him up and assaulted him in 2023.
asserted
Ludbey → assist → 2023
Ludbey has been sentenced to 14 months' jail, of which 10 months were suspended for two years.
asserted
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.
asserted
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".
uncertain
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.
asserted
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.
asserted
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.
asserted
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.
asserted
he → tell → container
Ludbey then texted his wife: "I'm waiting for him, I'm going to get him".
asserted
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.
asserted
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.
asserted
brother → join → seat
The younger brother was previously sentenced for his lesser part in the assault.
asserted
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.
asserted
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.
asserted
brothers → continue → hands
Ludbey then started a chainsaw, revved it, and held the chain against the boy's neck while it was not moving.
asserted
it → start → neck
He then bashed the boy with a piece of wood to his arms and head, causing several injuries.
asserted
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.
asserted
Ludbey → spray → boy
"You left him trapped, wet, restrained and undoubtedly very frightened,"Justice Jago said.
asserted
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.
asserted
who → say → possessions
"You said, 'I want my stuff back or you'll never see your son again'," Justice Jago said.
"
asserted
Jago → say → son
You were prepared to utter emotional threats to the complainant's father.
asserted
You → prepare → father
A short time later, Brady Ludbey freed the boy from the container, returned his phone and told him to go home.
asserted
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".
asserted
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.
asserted
who → lash → Ludbey
Justice Jago, however, said she found it "difficult to reconcile" the letters praising Ludbey's character with his "egregious behaviour".
asserted
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.
asserted
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.
asserted
Ludbey → say → crimes
"This was premeditated violence carried out for vindictive reasons,"the judge said.
asserted
judge → premeditate → ?
She sentenced Ludbey to 14 months' jail, of which 10 months were suspended for two years.
asserted
months → sentence → years
In court, Ludbey was supported by more than a dozen people, several of whom became emotional when he was jailed.
asserted
he → support → whom