Teen in lockup called in false bomb threat to gov office

A bored teenager in a juvenile detention centre caused chaos when he phoned a government department warning that a bomb was set to explode beneath a desk.

Brisbane Youth Detention Centre.

A BORED teenager in lockup at the Brisbane juvenile detention centre caused chaos when he phoned a government department warning that a bomb was set to explode beneath a desk.

The Toowoomba office of Queensland Youth Justice was evacuated while emergency services and police carried out a search.

No explosive device was found with an Ipswich court hearing that the teenager was bored because of the lockdown due to COVID-19.

Now aged 16 years and 10 months, the teenager, a father of one toddler, pleaded guilty in the dock of Ipswich Children’s Court on Monday to the crime of committing a bomb hoax.

The case was heard before Judge Alexander Horneman-Wren SC.

Crown prosecutor Cameron Wilkins said the hoax bomb call was made from the juvenile detention centre six months ago.

The teen had extensive history and had gone before the Children’s Court on 11 previous times for offences that include burglary, stealing, unlawful use of a car, aggravated robbery, and assault causing bodily harm.

Twice he had been sentenced by Ipswich judges in 2018 and 2020.

“At the time of his bomb hoax he was subject to five different sentences or court orders,” Mr Wilkins said.

“He was in custody when he did this. He called Youth Justice in Toowoomba on a phone.

“Said a bomb was underneath her desk. The building was evacuated until searched. No explosive device was found.

“It is immature, thoughtless. By an immature juvenile with a lack of insight on how it impacts on others.”

Mr Wilkins said the teen would benefit from taking part in a Restorative Justice order, where offenders meet face-to-face with their victims to discuss the impact of their crime.

Defence barrister Geoffrey Seaholme said his behaviour was foolish and immature.

He said the teen had negative peer influences and no positive role model.

Mr Seaholme said he’d spoken to him that Youth Justice was there to try and help him, not to punish him.

“Detention doesn’t seem to be a deterrent. It is sad to see a young male on the border of being institutionalised,” he said.

The teen was already subject to supervised court orders for previous offences until October 2022.

Judge Horneman-Wren said it was no doubt terrifying for the woman who took the phone call about the bomb.

But he noted that she was still prepared to take part in a Restorative Justice order with the offender.

An officer with the department of Juvenile Justice told the court the teen has a lack of understanding about the consequences of his behaviour and by taking part in the restorative justice process through a more flexible Court Diversion order would help this.

It would include both the worker and the police department whose resources were taken up by the bomb hoax.

Judge Horneman-Wren said the teen “used an access code” to call the government department.

“You did something extremely stupid when in the Brisbane Youth Detention Centre,” Judge Horneman-Wren said.

“You were able to access the telephone account. You made a call to an officer with Youth Justice.

“She was only 24. It would be frightening to be told there was a bomb under her desk.

“There wasn’t but she was not to know that.

“People were evacuated to safety and police searched which was a waste of police resources.”

He said a report before the court states the teen made the hoax call because he wanted release from boredom because of the COVID restrictions.

He had not been able to have contact with others including his child.

Judge Horneman-Wren warned him that if he continued to offend he would find the experience of being a young vulnerable male in an adult jail “a very different scenario” to what he’d experienced in a juvenile detention centre.

“You will be in for a horrible surprise,” he said.

The case was then referred to the office of the chief executive under the Youth Justice Act.

Instead of sentencing it will be dealt with through the court diversion referral process.

Read more stories by Ross Irby here.

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