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John Howard Amundsen

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John Howard Amundsen (born 1966) was the first Queenslander to be charged under national anti-terrorist laws in Australia.[1] These charges were later dropped.[2]

Background

Amundsen has no children and lived with his mother in their Aspley home prior to his arrest.[3][4] He was a teacher at Ferny Grove State High School and taught the subjects of manual arts, media and business.[3][5] He had a previous career as a spokesman for Brisbane Airport.[6]

After being assessed by a psychologist, he was found to have autism spectrum disorder.[7] A report stated he often retreated into fantasy worlds, had trouble thinking rationally, lacked social skills, and needed psychotherapy to assist his issues with anxiety and depression.[7]

Criminal charges

2006 terrorism charges

Amundsen gained notoriety in May 2006, after a stockpile of explosives and detonators were found in his home which caused the school he worked at to be evacuated and searched.[3][4][5][8][9] On 10 May 2006, the school was closed for most of the morning as police with sniffer dogs checked classrooms, before they declared it safe for students and staff to resume lessons.[3] In a Brisbane court on 11 May 2006, he was charged with fraudulently obtaining 53 kg of the explosive substance Powergel.[9][1][10] He was subsequently charged with preparing a terrorist act, as well as two counts of making a threat and making a hoax threat.[9] Amundsen was held at the Arthur Gorrie Correctional Centre in Wacol.[11]

In February 2007, the charges of terrorism and making a hoax threat were dropped but replaced with new charges of possessing incendiary devices and having dangerous goods in a vehicle.[12][2] In February 2008, he was jailed for six years for offences surrounding a plot to scare the parents of his ex-girlfriend so that he would win back their daughter.[1] He pleaded guilty to making threats and possession of dangerous goods and weapons.[10] Taking into account the 22 months spent in pre-sentence custody, Amundsen was released on parole in May 2009.[6][10]

2010 stalking allegations

In February 2010, Amundsen was charged with stalking after the alleged victim found a GPS tracking device on her car.[10][13] The alleged victim was the sister of the same ex-girlfriend Amundsen had attempted to win back with his 2006 bomb scare.[13] Police were convinced Amundsen was responsible.[13]

2014 stalking conviction

In 2014, Amundsen was found guilty of unlawful stalking of his former partner stemming back to 2011.[14][15] While pretending to be someone else, he had called, emailed and sent friend requests to her on social media.[14] Amundsen represented himself in court and pleaded not guilty.[16] Amundsen was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in jail, but with time served his parole eligibility was set at 1 March 2015.[14] He received a five-year restraining order from his victim and her daughters.[14] Amundsen told jurors that they had "failed a good, decent, Christian man" after they handed down the guilty verdict.[15] Amundsen believed the case against him was a feminist plot.[15]

References

  1. ^ a b c Dibben, Kay (20 March 2013). "College blasts former teacher convicted over a bomb plot". The Courier-Mail. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  2. ^ a b "Terrorism Court Cases". Parliament of Australia.
  3. ^ a b c d Kennedy, Les (11 May 2006). "Bin Laden in the classroom". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
  4. ^ a b Oakes, Dan (11 May 2006). "Teacher charged over explosives and detonators". The Age. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
  5. ^ a b "Teacher refused bail over bombs". Sydney Morning Herald. 10 May 2006. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
  6. ^ a b Flatley, Christine (28 May 2013). "Teacher gets maximum ban for bomb scare". Brisbane Times. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  7. ^ a b Gregory, Jason (24 February 2008). "6 years for Amundsen bomb plot". The Courier-Mail. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  8. ^ "Brisbane teacher to face court again over explosives find". ABC News. 11 May 2006. Archived from the original on 18 May 2017. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
  9. ^ a b c "Teacher up for terrorism". News24. 11 May 2006. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
  10. ^ a b c d Bentley, Amelia (24 February 2010). "Stalker used GPS to track ex's family, court told". Brisbane Times. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  11. ^ "Terrorism suspect sacks fourth legal team". ABC News. 28 November 2006. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  12. ^ Meade, Kevin (20 February 2007). "Teacher's terror charge dropped". The Australian. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
  13. ^ a b c Rawlins, Jason (24 February 2010). "Alleged stalking victim found tracking device under car". ABC News. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  14. ^ a b c d "Stalker condemned for remarks about his victim and police". The Observer. 2 December 2014. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  15. ^ a b c "Stalker slams jurors after guilty verdict". Sunshine Coast Daily. 10 October 2014. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  16. ^ Frost, Pamela (3 October 2014). "Accused stalker calls convicted pedophile as witness". The Queensland Times. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
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