Father prosecuted for scolding son's bully

A Lund man has been charged with trespassing after going to the home of a boy who had been bullying his son and verbally scolding him.

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“The bullying stopped the same day, so it was worth it,” the man, known as Michael, told the Skånskan newspaper.

Michael is a highly educated university lecturer, and reportedly has a quiet and friendly demeanour. Moreover, he had never, until now, had contact with the justice system or the police.

“It feels upsetting, and strange. But what should I have done otherwise?” he asks.

The matter began on April 3rd last year, when his son Christoffer was being subjected to intense bullying. But with a culture of silence that existed at he school his son attended, Michael and his wife had been unaware of their son’s plight.

“Christoffer was often sick and had a stomach ache. He didn’t want to go to school. But one day, the truth seeped out,” Michael said.

When Michael and his wife took up the matter with their son's school and the class teacher, they made it clear that Christoffer was vulnerable. The school had a special group that handled such matters, but in this case the group decided to take no action, as the parents of the accused bullies believed that their children were innocent, according to Michael.

“It was so frustrating. You must experience it yourself, how upsetting it is when your children are being bullied."

Michael reached the final straw when his son came home one day saying that one of the bullies had hit him, and another had threatened that Christoffer would “die over Easter”.

Michael decided that something had to be done, so he went over to the lead bully’s home to confront his parents. However, while the parents were not home, the 12-year-old bully was.

“He understood immediately what I was there for. I was so angry, and I scolded him,” Michael said.

The prosecution turns on how far inside the house Michael was. According to the bully and his sister, Michael was several metres inside the house, which would mean that a charge of trespassing might be sustained. However, according to Michael, he was just beside the door frame, or just inside.

“And was I threatening? Yes I was, I said that if it happens again you will have a problem with me. That could perhaps be seen as a threat,” Michael said.

“But what should I have done? I couldn’t see my son feel so awful. And the fact is that after that day the bullying stopped,” he added. He is irked that the bully has received the support of the school, while he is pilloried.

The court proceedings to consider the trespassing charge will commence shortly.