A slapping game gone wrong between a group of boys has landed a Canberra couple in the ACT Magistrates Court.
The court heard the incident began with a game that involved face slapping between the boys, aged 12 and 13, which escalated, causing distress to one of them.
After the boy reported his distress to his mother, 32, and her partner, 31, they accompanied him back to the house where the other boys were, finding them in a bedroom.
Prosecutors told the court the man placed one of the boys in a headlock and, as the pair fell onto a mattress, he kicked a second boy in the head.
Magistrate Glenn Theakston noted there was an allegation he then tried to choke a third boy.
"He placed his hand around the throat of another boy," Magistrate Theakston told the court, noting the boy was struggling to breathe.
The court heard the boy's mother made threats, telling the boys "you are screwed".
She also allegedly told them her partner had "just got out of jail" and "we'll get you before school".
"We'll get people to get you," she allegedly said.
Prosecutors told the court it was a disproportionate response and a serious example of an assault not befitting parents.
Magistrate Theakston said he would release the woman on bail, given she had not used any force.
"I am hoping she has cooled down," he said.
But the man has been remanded in custody after the prosecution raised concerns about reoffending.
Magistrate Theakston agreed, and said it was a bizarre assault, which seemed to have been justified by a sense of grievance to do with his partner's son.
"I'm just not satisfied that bail conditions would [allay] my concerns," the magistrate said.
The woman has indicated a plea of not guilty and will return to court in October.
The man will be back in court later this month.
