A man went into "dad mode" when he choked two 13-year-old boys as retaliation for punching his stepson during a game of "slap boxing", his partner has claimed.
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The night-time assault took place while the young victims were having a sleepover.
The offender, aged in his early 30s, was meant to face the ACT Supreme Court on Monday for trial but instead entered pleas of guilty to two counts of choking, strangulation or suffocation.
Single charges of aggravated burglary previously laid against both him and his partner were withdrawn.
The stepfather, who is not named to protect the identity of the children involved, previously pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Court documents state the offender's 12-year-old stepson joined four friends, including the two victims, at Watson Oval about 7pm on July 30, 2022, to play a game of "slap boxing".
When the 12-year-old was hit in the eye and nose after he "broke the rules", he ran home and told his mother the other boys had "jumped him".
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About 9pm, the offender and his partner went to the Watson home where the boys who had played the slapping game were having a sleepover.
The couple entered through the house's unlocked front door, calling out for the victim who lived there.
Entering the victim's bedroom, the offender said: "Well, you boys, we're going to have a talk."
"Get out of my room," the victim responded.
The offender put the 13-year-old in a headlock and dropped on top of him as the pair fell onto the bed.
The stepfather then reached out with his left hand and momentarily grabbed the neck of another boy who was sitting on the bed, restricting the second victim's ability to breathe.
The man's partner and mother of the 12-year-old, remained in the bedroom's doorway yelling at the group of boys to "be careful walking to school".
The first victim's sister went to find her father, who entered the room and saw the offender sitting on his son's bed.
"What the f--- is going on? Get the f--- out," the victim's father said.
The offender and his partner yelled, telling the other man they were there because the boys had jumped the 12-year-old.
The boys present for the sleepover denied the accusation.
The couple eventually left and the stepfather was arrested the following day by police, who he tried to evade by hiding under a bed.
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Tim Piccione
Tim is a journalist with the Canberra Times covering the ACT courts. He came to the nation's capital via the Daily Advertiser in Wagga. Contact: tim.piccione@canberratimes.com.au.
Tim is a journalist with the Canberra Times covering the ACT courts. He came to the nation's capital via the Daily Advertiser in Wagga. Contact: tim.piccione@canberratimes.com.au.
