A Utah man who chased down a young boy and choked him for ding-dong ditching his house has been ordered by a judge to self-deport to his native New Zealand.
Tony Bernstone must spend the entirety of his four-year probation period in New Zealand and cannot return to Utah during that time, KSL.com reported.
His punishment stems from an incident on August 1, 2025, involving a group of children ringing the doorbell of his Salt Lake City home and running away before he could answer—a common prank known as ding-dong ditching.
According to a probable cause affidavit, five friends were having a sleepover and decided to ding-dong ditch several houses.
After targeting Bernstone's house at around 9:45pm, the 59-year-old got on his bicycle and pedaled after the group, the affidavit states.
He caught up with a 12-year-old boy who had participated in the prank and grabbed him by his shirt. Bernstone then slapped the boy across the face at least three times and punched him in the stomach, police said.
A witness later told police they heard Bernstone saying he was 'going to beat the s*** out of them'.
Bernstone also took a photograph of himself grabbing the boy by the throat, claiming it was 'to show police', according to the affidavit.
After roughing up the boy, Bernstone forced him to walk to a nearby Maverik store to meet with the boy's father to discuss what happened, the affidavit said.
It is unclear who called police, but shortly afterward officers arrived at the store, where Bernstone stated that he 'pushed the victim up against a fence and slapped his mouth a couple of times to get him to stop running away'.
The affidavit described this admission as an 'excited utterance' because when police issued a Miranda warning—a clear sign he would be arrested and charged—Bernstone stopped being forthcoming about his actions.
During questioning, Bernstone said he had been dealing with neighbourhood children ding-dong ditching his house for several years. He acknowledged that the kids he chased were not the same ones who had been routinely pranking him.
Bernstone was arrested the day after the incident and charged with first-degree felony child kidnapping and misdemeanor child abuse.
On April 7, Bernstone pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of second-degree child kidnapping. The child abuse charge was dismissed as part of the plea agreement.
He was initially sentenced to 1 to 15 years in prison, but this was suspended and replaced with five days in jail and four years of probation.
Per the judge's order, Bernstone must return to New Zealand within 60 days.
