Campbelltown Court: Ricky White fronts court for breaching supervision orders under strict anti-terrorism legislation

A right-wing extremist who burned down a church has “renounced” his views a lawyer says and asked the court to give him a chance after a new charge was imposed.

A Campbelltown man who breached his supervision under anti-terrorism laws has lodged an appeal against a jail sentence.

Bradbury resident Ricky White, who burned down a Pentecostal church in Taree in 2016, is monitored in the community under strict anti-terrorism legislation.

The 31-year-old is subject to an extended supervision order preventing him from doing anything without telling his law enforcement minders about it first.

He fronted Campbelltown Local Court on Tuesday and pleaded guilty to breaching the order by accessing violent and extremist material on May 11.

Court documents show that White had been released from custody on April 12 after serving 14 months for similar offences, and then about a month later he accessed a video that breached the order.

White viewed a number of videos relating to Fatal Illusion, his former band, and was showing a young person known to him.

That included one uploaded to YouTube in 2016 under Hatchet 88 which is a known alias used by the accused.

Ricky White.

The documents state that the video is just under two minutes, is self-made and shows White with a focus on his white supremacist tattoos including numbers 14 and 88, the Iron Cross and several images of the Swastika as well as a photo of a burning church.

The video is “an expression of racial intolerance and hatred” the police facts stated and some of the lyrics include “the hour is right for revenge”, “strike them down”, ”raise the plague” and ”fight to the end”

On May 12, White told his supervising officer that he had seen the video come up and “wondered what the video was so clicked on it”.

“Police have serious concerns that the accused has exposed [a young person] … to extremist Nazi propaganda,” the facts stated.

Solicitor Nicholas Breen said it was a difficult position to represent and asked the court to not hear him as “advocating of the racist horrible views that have emerged in the case”.

Ricky White Church Fire Charge

But, he said, the defence case pointed out that Mr White moving in a different direction adding that the magistrate was sentencing White on his action’s this year and not in 2016.

“He has pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity … he has shown a lot of good form .. if he was watching this stuff with a view of interest in racism, he would have hid it,” Mr Breen said.

“He showed a lot of good form by contacting his officer on the night ...that is consistent with someone doing the right thing”

“It may well have never been found out if he didn’t tell police … I am asking the court to give Mr White a chance to stay in the community.”

Mr Breen told the court that jail has been “harsh” for White who had been attacked and placed in protective custody. He also said White had been stabbed by “another skinhead gang” as he had renounced his previous beliefs and “is considered somewhat of a traitor”.

The video had “awful content” and White was reckless in watching it, but Mr Breen said it was an offence that could be considered in the low to medium range of objective seriousness.

Mr Breen said White no longer believes in his previous views and was making efforts to rehabilitate.

However, the police prosecutor argued it was above the mid-range and said White was not reckless to what the video contained saying such a submission was at odds with the fact that White had uploaded it.

“Mr White has been subject to an ESO for quite some time now and from his antecedents continually breaches it. For the order to have effect there has to have consequences flow from the breaches of theses orders,” he said.

“The mere fact that he has entered into an agreement on April 12, and he is breaching it less than 30 days later takes away any of the mitigating circumstances.”

Magistrate Robert Rabbidge said the “horrors of fascism and Nazi ideology” are quite clear and obvious hence the very tough legislation.

“I do find that it was quite a deliberate act and disturbing with a [young person] sitting next to him,” he said.

“Exposing children to ideology of this type is truly appalling and one reminds oneself children can, as part of our education process, be influenced for life by such violent material.”

Magistrate Rabbidge acknowledged the early plea of guilty, White’s admission to his enforcement officer and also his “considerable” mental health issues.

He sentenced White to 12 months imprisonment with a non-parole period of nine months. However shortly after the sentence, an appeal was lodged on White’s behalf and he was released on bail. The matter returns to Wagga District Court on July 8.