A Kiwi man living in the US has been told to leave the country after an incident involving a 12-year-old child who “doorbell ditched” his Utah home in August last year.
Tony Arnold Bernstone, 59, pleaded guilty this month to a reduced charge of child kidnapping and was sentenced to five days' jail time and four years' probation over the incident.
Court documents said a group of children at a sleepover "ding-dong ditched" a number of homes on August 2, 2025, including Bernstone's Salt Lake City property.
The common doorbell prank involves ringing a doorbell and running away before the occupant answers.
Bernstone was accused of pursuing the boys on a bicycle before grabbing one boy by the shirt, striking him several times in the face and punching him in the stomach.
Witnesses at the scene reportedly heard Bernstone telling the juveniles he was going to “beat the s*** out of them".
Bernstone then reportedly forced the 12-year-old boy to walk with him. The boy contacted his father, who arranged to meet Bernstone at a nearby service station, where police were called.
Officers said Bernstone initially admitted to pushing the child against a fence and slapping him across the mouth while trying to stop him running away.
He was arrested in August following the incident and later admitted to the reduced child kidnapping charge.
The judge ordered Bernstone to self-deport to New Zealand and not return to Utah during his four-year probation period.
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