Jonty Akari, 19, fronts court charged with illegally entering buildings around CBD

The first person charged after an investigation into social media users posting footage of dangerous stunts online, including hanging off rooftops across the city, has just appeared in court.

The first young person charged after an investigation into social media users boasting about dangerous stunts online, including hanging off rooftops across the city, has fronted a magistrate for the first time.

Jonty Akari, 19, hid his face behind legal aid papers as he left the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Wednesday, flanked by his family.

The Port Noarlunga man has been charged with three counts of being unlawfully on premises after The Advertiser revealed the extraordinary lengths young people are going to for social media photos, including hanging off the city’s tallest towers.

He is yet to answer the charges.

In court documents, SA Police allege the young man was unlawfully in three buildings across the city – King William St, Grenfell St and Gawler Pl – between March 26 and April 10, 2024.

Jonty Akari, 19, has been charged after allegedly filming himself riding trains. Pictures: Facebook

Jonty Akari, 19, is seen leaving Adelaide Magistrates Court, where he has been charged with being unlawfully on premises.

Upon his arrest last month, police had alleged he was also involved in incidents where a group of young people filmed each other “riding dangerously” on trains before posting the footage online.

Mr Akari was subsequently issued with a three-month ban from using any form of public transport or “entering on to any public transport infrastructure”.

“The investigation is ongoing to identify further people involved,” a police spokesman said at the time of his arrest.

“Police would like to remind the public of the obvious dangers of travelling on the outside of trains and accessing restricted areas on buildings.”

Photos shared to Instagram accounts, which have since been deactivated, show images taken from various rooftops across the city, going as far as to show an image of a person hanging off the side of one building.

One video also shows a young man and a filmer “surfing” the roof of a train on the Belair Line, narrowly ducking as the train enters a tunnel.

They used handles and hashtags referring to “urbex”, short for urban exploration.

Examples of the photos shared to social media. Picture: Supplied

Jonty Akari, 19, is seen leaving Adelaide Magistrates Court, where he has been charged with being unlawfully on premises.

The Urban Dictionary describes urbexing as “the act of going to and exploring places that are not normally visited or often even accessible to the general public”.

Mr Akari, who, according to his Instagram, operates a Depop store under the username of ‘Urbexboy’, on Wednesday asked Magistrate Brian Nitschke to adjourn his matter so he could find a lawyer.

“I’m asking for an adjournment to get legal advice through legal aid,” Mr Akari said.

Mr Nitschke agreed and he was remanded on continuing bail to return to court next month.

Outside court, he hid behind documents with family members walking closely on either side of him.

In bizarre scenes, a member of the public then screamed at media as Mr Akari left the courthouse.

Originally published as Jonty Akari, 19, fronts court charged with illegally entering buildings around CBD