5 Jun 2019

Radicalised Chch teen imprisoned after breaching supervision

10:48 am on 5 June 2019

A 19-year-old Christchurch man who once planned a radical Islamist terror attack has breached his supervision order and been imprisoned.

Coat of Arms

Coat of Arms Photo: RNZ / Alexander Robertson

The man, whose name is suppressed, has been monitored by Judge Stephen O'Driscoll for the past 16 months after admitting to becoming radicalised online and plotting to carry out a terror attack on the public.

Today he appeared in the Christchurch District Court after absconding from his residential care facility and walking to a Burger King.

He was picked up by the police and had spent about a week in prison.

In an apology letter which he read out in court, he said he headed for the Burger King because it reminded him of his mother who used to take him there and promised he would not do it again.

Referring to the mosque attacks, he said that in the current climate he realised his going missing would have caused safety concerns.

The judge accepted his apology and released him on bail back to his residential facility.

He will be sentenced in July.