A man who police believe tortured and held captive a 62-year-old housemate has been denied bail at the Cleveland Magistrates Court yesterday in Queensland.
Unemployed factory worker Mark Joseph Loborec, 28, appeared in court via video link and is facing 13 charges, which include one count of torture and two counts of serious assault of a person over the age of 60.
The court heard that Loborec had been living at the elderly man’s home in Alexandra Hills on August 19 when a dispute involving a mobile phone turned horribly violent.
According to police, the defendant threw the phone at the victim with full force, which struck the older man in the eye and resulted in a horrific injury.
Upon the victim’s return home, police allege that Loborec and two other men were waiting to continue the assault.
The court then heard highly graphic details of the alleged assault in which police believe Loborec targeted the victim’s injured eye and then broke the victim’s nose with punches.
The prosecution also told the court that Loborec threatened the other two who were present with him when they attempted to calm him and put an end to the attack.
It is alleged that Loborec then held the victim and the other two men in attendance captive and that the men were only able to escape the home when Loborec fell asleep.
Prosecutors told the court that all three men were extremely fearful of Loborec and felt it vital that he remain behind bars until his next court appearance.
The court heard Loborec was sentenced for assaults in 2010 and 2012, breached his probation in 2018 and received a 12-month sentence for serious assault in 2015.
Loborec’s lawyer, Kurt McDonald, pushed for his client to receive bail, stating that he believed that Loborec’s offending could be controlled with strict reporting duties, a curfew and the use of a tracking device.
However, Magistrate Deborah Vasta refused bail and remarked that Loborec’s victims “are terrified with good reason”. She also noted that he could be looking at “quite a few years” in jail upon sentencing.
Mark Joseph Loborec is scheduled to appear in court once again on December 2.
