Paul Chesworth convicted, sentenced after false information prompts Wollongbar siege

A man who sent alarming images, including one of “a shock thing with wires”, has learned his fate after triggering an “extraordinary” police operation involving two bomb squads.

Paul Chesworth, who triggered a six-hour siege. Picture: Facebook

A northern rivers engineer was making “a cry for help” when he sent pictures of explosive devices to his family, sparking a six-hour siege that involved two states’ bomb squads, a court has heard.

Paul William Chesworth, 46, of McLeans Ridge, was convicted and sentenced to an 18-month community correction order in the Downing Centre Local Court on Tuesday.

He had earlier pleaded guilty to charges of giving false information about a person being in danger, breaching a personal violence order and possessing a prohibited drug.

Agreed facts show Chesworth’s family contacted police on November 22, 2023, raising concerns for his welfare after receiving images of electronic explosive devices, followed by a message explaining how he “wanted to be remembered”.

One of the messages included a video “showing a doorbell connected to an electrical device”, “which would appear to electrocute anyone touching it”.

Paul William Chesworth. Picture: Facebook

At 8am the next morning, Chesworth’s family contacted triple-0, alarmed by his “declining mental health” after receiving further pictures of explosive devices, along with “goodbye” texts.

Around the same time, Chesworth also breached a personal violence order by sending a thumb emoji via Facebook Messenger, the court heard.

Paul Chesworth, who received a community correction order on Tuesday. Picture: Facebook

Police quickly declared a high-risk incident, deploying what the court heard was “an extraordinary amount of emergency resources”.

A nearby TAFE and homes in the area were locked down as police put an exclusion zone in place around a property in Wollongbar, where Chesworth was living, near Lismore.

Tactical police negotiated with Chesworth until 2pm, when he surrendered.

He was taken to Lismore Base Hospital due to his threats of self-harm before being charged.

Specialist bomb squad technicians from NSW and Queensland successfully dismantled two devices that were “capable of causing a shock to anyone” who touched them, the agreed facts state.

The Wollongbar TAFE campus, which was locked down during the police operation. Picture: Andrew Trease / Supplied

On Tuesday, Chesworth’s lawyer said the 46-year-old had been charged with the false information offence because “he was saying he would kill himself in circumstances that police decided were misleading or false”.

“When he first sent those messages [to his family] he was intending to do it,” the lawyer said.

“But then he reached a point where he decided not to do it and by the time he sent the electric shock thing, he decided he wasn’t going to go through with it.”

The lawyer also explained that Chesworth had sent images of “a shock thing from Paddy’s Markets with wires”.

“In that photo. there’s these shock things from Paddy’s Markets.

“It’s not something that’s going to incapacitate or injure you, but the tactical response took it seriously.

“It’s the extraordinary use of emergency responses he called in, with the TAFE and school being locked down, which is what makes it objectively quite serious.”

The lawyer added that Chesworth had been spiralling because of mental ill health and alcoholism at the time, but said he had remained sober since being remanded in custody a year ago.

In response, the prosecutor said he was concerned Chesworth had shown “little insight and contrition into the offending”, in particular the “significant expense occurred as a result of his actions”.

Magistrate Clare Farnan ultimately accepted Chesworth “wasn’t well” at the time.

“He wasn’t well and struggled with alcoholism,” she said.

“This expression of self-harm was part of that whole process.

“His mental health and intoxication meant he didn’t turn his mind to the images he was sending.

“It was either a cry for help or intimidation. Let’s say it was a cry for help.”

While he received the community correction order, Chesworth remains behind bars on remand on a separate charge.