Illawarra man Benjamin Thomas reveals shocking Hitler tattoo in court, charged with harassment

A Wollongong man who had the title of Hitler’s manifesto inked on his head has appeared in court after allegedly bombarding a woman with more than 100 calls from prison.

Wollongong man Benjamin Thomas appeared in Wollongong Local Court on Monday. Picture: Supplied

A violent criminal who had the words “Mein Kampf” tattooed on his forehead has been refused bail after he allegedly called a woman more than 100 times from jail.

Benjamin Thomas appeared in Wollongong Local Court on Monday with the words used for Adolf Hitler’s autobiographical manifesto tattooed across his forehead.

The 35-year-old applied for bail after being charged with 18 counts of breaching an apprehended violence order and five counts of using a carriage service to harass or menace.

Thomas applied for bail after being charged with 18 counts of breaching an apprehended violence order and five counts of using a carriage service to harass or menace.

Police prosecutor Sergeant Kate McKinley informed the court the latter carriage service charges all carry a maximum term of imprisonment of three years.

The allegations stem back to November, last year and earlier this month when Thomas was in Parklea Correctional Centre and called a woman more than 100 times.

The court heard Thomas was in custody on remand for domestic violence charges that have since been dropped, however, Sgt McKinley indicated they could be relaid.

Benjamin Thomas. Picture: Supplied

Documents tendered in court revealed Thomas allegedly called the woman as often as 18 times a day during the eight week period.

On multiple occasions the woman answered and told him to “stop calling me”, warning he would “get breached”.

The documents said a majority of the time the calls went unanswered with Thomas allegedly leaving voicemails including “Answer the phone”, “Hello dog”, “I‘ll call someone else then” and “I love you”.

Thomas was released from custody on Friday, January 17, with the fresh charges placed when he reported to Wollongong Police Station.

The court heard Thomas had been out of custody for about a year after serving seven years behind bars for stabbing his then girlfriend eight times with a screwdriver.

Sgt McKinley told the court the accused had a propensity to commit crimes fuelled by “jealousy”, adding “the prosecution has to be fearful for anyone he gets into a relationship with”.

Magistrate Claire Girotto noted Thomas‘s lengthy criminal history and “sheer number” of charges when denying him bail because she was “not prepared to risk the safety of the victim”.

The matter will return to Wollongong Local Court in February.