Melbourne jihadi Adam Brookman may face more jail time after being released

A Melbourne ex-nurse jailed for aiding foreign fighters in Syria may face more prison time after breaching court orders by viewing violent porn and weapons online.

Adam Brookman. Picture: Facebook

A former Melbourne nurse who was jailed for aiding foreign fighters in Syria is back behinds bars after he looked up violent porn and weapons videos months after his release.

Adam Brookman, 46, at the County Court on Friday was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment after he pleaded guilty to four counts of contravening a control order for viewing YouTube videos of firearms and ammunition, a video game titled “Ultrakill” and animated pornography depicting violent sex acts.

The Thomastown man spent close to six years in jail on a foreign incursion charge before he was released in June 2021 with court-imposed conditions — known as control orders — in place banning him from looking up media depicting weapons, explosions and executions.

He was also prohibited from using social media without permission or deleting the browser history on a laptop and mobile phone provided to him by the Australian Federal Police and which were secretly monitored.

But within a month of his release, Brookman began breaching the orders by deleting his internet history.

Adam Brookman breached court orders by deleting his internet history. Picture: Facebook

He would go on to look up violent animated porn including a Justice League themed video that depicted rape and an execution.

Other videos he watched included YouTube clips showing the testing of military weapons and another titled “How they use shotguns in movies”.

Brookman also used social media to look up his ex-wife’s accounts and news on the Afghan war and the Taliban.

Prosecutor Glenn Barr told the court Brookman contravened the orders on 36 occasions over a 3½ month period between July and October 2021.

Brookman’s lawyer Rahmin de Kretser described his client’s social media searches of his ex-wife as “ordinary human behaviour”.

He said much of Brookman’s offending was prompted by boredom during Covid lockdowns.

Brookman’s lawyer describes his client's social media searches of his ex-wife ‘ordinary human behaviour’.

“He’s lost contact with various friends and family because of his incarceration and his travel overseas and so he found it extremely difficult,” he said.

“You can see the times of day and night that he’s looking things up, that he’s sitting at home and he’s bored.”

He added Brookman’s use of video games was unlikely to lead to violence or terrorism.

But Judge Simon Moglia said he was worried that Brookman deleted his web history despite knowing the AFP would check.

“That’s got a hint of criminality to it that concerns me,” he said.

Brookman visited Syria in 2014 where he used his medical knowledge to help Chechen rebels who were in conflict with the Syrian government.

He also underwent weapons training and took on guard duties before he returned to Australia where he was arrested and charged with terrorism offences.

Brookman later pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of foreign incursion before he was sentenced to a minimum five years’ behind bars.

Judge Moglia fixed a non-parole period of 15 months making Brookman eligible for supervised release with time served.