Peter Darren Ivancic seeks bail on charges he sent emails threatening to kill the prosecutor of his upcoming trial

A man about to stand trial for alleged online harassment has been arrested for firing off a barrage of emails threatening to kill the prosecutor, a court has heard.

A disgruntled Housing Trust tenant bombarded state and federal government agencies with sexually-explicit death-threat emails just weeks before his trial on similar charges, a court has heard.

SA Police have urged the Adelaide Magistrates Court to deny Peter Darren Ivancic bail, saying the target of his threats was the Commonwealth prosecutor leading the trial against him.

They said the court could have no faith Mr Ivancic would abide by any bail conditions given his near-identical alleged offending in 2020 and 2021, and past convictions in the 1990s.

“These emails were quite graphic in content and directed, through the courts registry, at the prosecutor in Mr Ivancic’s trial,” an SA Police prosecutor said.

“We oppose bail on the basis Mr Ivancic has allegedly committed offences while on bail for similar offending that is going to trial.

“It’s also very likely there’s going to be more charges as investigators identify more recipients of these emails.”

Mr Ivancic, 58, of Adelaide, was arrested on Monday and charged with one count of threatening an injury in order to influence the performance of public duties.

In documents released to The Advertiser by the court, police allege the offence occurred between December 30 last year and January 6 this year.

They allege Mr Ivancic “threatened a physical injury to a person” with “the intention of influencing the manner in which” they “discharged or performed their official duty”.

On Tuesday, Mr Ivancic faced court by video link from the City Watch House and asked to be released on bail – an application opposed by a police prosecutor.

“These charges stem from 10 emails sent to the Courts SA registry that were then forwarded to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions,” he said.

“They name an individual at the CDPP who is handling Mr Ivancic’s active case in the District Court, which is set to commence on April 22 this year.”

Court records show Mr Ivancic has pleaded not guilty, in the District Court, to three counts of using a carriage service – namely the internet – in an offensive or harassing way.

Those charges relate to alleged offending between June 2020 and 2021.

The prosecutor said a courts registry staff member showed the emails to a Court Sheriff’s Officer who then informed police, sparking an investigation and Mr Ivancic’s arrest.

“Mr Ivancic does have a history of this type of offending … in 1993, he was convicted of using a carriage service in an offensive manner,” he said.

Counsel for Mr Ivancic said their client was in poor health due to renal and hernia issues, amounting to “exceptional circumstances” warranting his release on bail.

She said he was prepared to agree to bail conditions “prohibiting him from sending emails of a threatening or sexual nature to any government agencies”.

Magistrate Oliver Koehn ordered home detention and bail inquiry reports, and remanded Mr Ivancic in custody until next week.