Autistic teenager ‘groomed’ by AFP sentenced for separate terrorism offence
An autistic teenager whose Islamic State obsession was previously “fed” by undercover police has been freed after pleading guilty to sharing violent extremist material and threatening a Melbourne synagogue.
The 18-year-old, nicknamed Thomas Carrick in court, was first charged with terrorism offenses in 2021, but the case was dropped after the judge found the Australian Federal Police (AFP) had “encouraged” him to radicalise.
However, four separate charges were filed against the boy, whose name was withheld by law because he was a minor at the time, in May last year.
He pleaded guilty last month to threatening violence against the Melbourne Hebrew Congregation and using a transport service to publish violent extremist material.
He was given a 12-month strict supervision order in the Children’s Court on Thursday. The prosecution and defense agreed on his release after 357 days in custody.
Judge Julie O’Donnell said the 18-year-old had complex disabilities and psychologists believed he was engaging in “attention-seeking communication” rather than addressing violent threats.
The judge considered that the “inappropriate conduct of law enforcement officials” in his previous case had “left a significant impact” on him, but said the latest offense was serious.
She was concerned that he “still exhibits fixed behavior at times while in custody” but said he has “pro-social parents who have shown that they will do everything they can” to help their son.
Outside the court, the boy’s parents said he would not have committed these crimes had it not been for the earlier undercover operation that fueled his ISIS obsession.
“If they had really helped us, we wouldn’t be here today,” they said.
ABC first reported on Thursday He said the boy’s parents would file a Federal Court action against the AFP, claiming they discriminated against their son because of his age and disability, which encouraged his radicalization in the earlier undercover operation.
An undercover agent messaged the socially isolated autistic teenager online for 55 days as part of Operation Bourglinster, despite his parents going to police for help less than four months earlier.
Judge Lesley Fleming said at a hearing in 2023 that rehabilitation would end if an undercover agent befriended the boy to gather intelligence on the internet and “provided him with new terminology, new boundaries and, in part, an outlet to express his fantasy world”.
His family called for an independent review of counter-terrorism measures and radicalization programmes.
“This is a wake-up call for society,” they said. “Let’s learn from this trauma”
Meanwhile, Judge O’Donnell said he had ordered “the highest control order the court can grant” because of the boy’s crime last year, and added a requirement that the boy not access the internet unless under supervision.
He was also banned from coming within 200 meters of the Melbourne Hebrew Congregation or contacting the synagogue. He also cannot access his mobile phone between 22:00 and 08:00.
The child is now required to attend weekly appointments with a forensic psychologist and return to court every two weeks for judicial supervision.
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Lachlan Abbott is a crime reporter for The Age. She was previously a city reporter, covering breaking news.Connect via email.
