[ad_1]
David White/Stuff
The now 21-year-old accepts what he was doing was “real scary”.
An Auckland man who became radicalised online before buying knives, camouflage gear and ingredients to make a bomb, has been declined parole and accepts his actions were “real scary”.
The man, who has permanent name suppression, believed terror attacks against non-Muslims were justified and wanted to kill between 20 and 30 people in September 2021.
Earlier this year, the now 21-year-old was sentenced to two years and five months’ imprisonment for threatening to kill, distributing and possessing objectionable publications.
Since he’d already spent 18 months on remand, he became eligible for parole in April.
READ MORE:
* Teen who planned terror attack in Auckland keeps name secret
* Teen who planned terror attack in Auckland said he was ready for ‘martyrdom’
He has foetal alcohol spectrum disorder and a mild intellectual disability. He is also reported to have shown features of autism and comes from a background of deprivation, abuse and social isolation.
At an earlier court hearing, the man’s lawyer Annabel Cresswell said the man was abused and neglected as a child. He began to suffer from extreme isolation, which led him to spending time online and becoming radicalised.
At sentencing, Justice Rebecca Edwards said there was “real hope” for the young man and he was on the right path, however there was a long way to go.
David White/Stuff
The man’s lawyer previously told the court the man began suffering from extreme isolation which led him down the path of radicalisation.
Since being in prison, the man has been in the extreme risk unit.
He has embarked on a rehabilitative pathway and is meeting regularly with a psychologist.
That includes meeting with a survivor of the Christchurch mosque terror shootings and regular sessions with a psychologist.
“The defendant has expressed hope for a normal life in the future, with a job, a loving partner, children and a desire to go fishing,” Justice Edwards said in the suppression judgment.
At the parole hearing, the man accepted he has a “deep-seated problem that needs to be resolved”.
He told the board he needed to know what was behind the thoughts and feelings which led to his offending.
The young man said the offending came about when he was “feeling shit”, he wanted a sense of belonging and he enjoyed talking to “a lot of people”.
David White/Stuff
Prosecutor Henry Steele said the man became radicalised in 2017.
The Parole Board decided he remained an undue risk and declined parole. However, it would see him again in four months.
Present at the hearing were a number of the man’s whānau, who accepted he needs to undergo extensive rehabilitative treatment before he can be released.
The man became radicalised in 2017 and was well on his way before police covertly engaged with him, prosecutor Henry Steele said at sentencing.
On one occasion, he went to an ice hockey game at Spark Arena with a knife. He intended to cause panic and terror.
However, he began engaging in the game instead.
“It’s the kindness of strangers that stopped you that day,” Justice Edwards said.
Days after the LynnMall terror attack. He messaged a covert officer, saying he felt inspired and wanted to bring the attack forward. The man was arrested in September 2021.
When police raided his home they found hundreds of videos, including bodycam footage of a terror attack in Germany, the manifesto of the terrorist who attacked two Christchurch mosques, and other Isis videos.
[ad_2]