‘Terrifying’: Stalker pops from bush, follows Toowoomba woman home

A Toowoomba man with a creepy and concerning criminal history - exposing his penis in public, showing teen’s porn, and stalking people – has again been jailed after he followed a woman home.

Toowoomba man Peter Anthony Turnbull will serve 10 months behind bars for stalking a woman and breaching his bail conditions.

A Toowoomba man with a terrifying habit of randomly stalking women and engaging in creepy behavior has again been jailed for the ‘anti-social’ behavior.

At the Toowoomba Magistrates Court on Tuesday, March 11, Peter Anthony Turnbull pleaded guilty to stalking a woman through the streets of Toowoomba on January 9, 2024.

The 52-year-old man was on bail for the offence however, he was arrested after he breached his bail conditions a number of times and spent 276 days in pre-sentence custody.

Turnbull, who had two prior stalking offences on his 16 page criminal history, also pleaded guilty to six breach of bail charges.

In May 2023, Turnbull pleaded guilty to stalking a Harlaxton hairdresser, and in July he pleaded guilty to showing two underage girls a porn while they shopped with their grandmother.

Around the same time of the indecent treatment incident, Mr Turnbull was convicted exposing his penis in the Toowoomba CBD while making remarks about a woman’s breasts.

Toowoomba man Peter Anthony Turnbull will serve 10 months behind bars for stalking a woman and breaching his bail conditions.

The latest stalking offence was committed against a woman he didn’t know while he was on two parole orders and a suspended sentence.

The court heard Turnbull followed the woman for a ‘significant period of time’ as she walked home from work in the middle of the afternoon, causing her significant distress and concern for her safety.

At one point, the woman sought refuge inside a local business and waited for Turnbull to leave.

He stood outside the business and stared at the woman before seemingly disappearing.

However, the court heard that when the woman continued her journey home, she spotted Turnbull watching her from a bush, before he continued to follow her to her home.

The court heard Turnbull had been homeless for about four months at the time of the offence, which impacted his ability to comply with his bail conditions.

Magistrate Kya Morris said the incident affected the woman’s day-to-day life as she no longer felt safe walking her dog or to work.

“Your conduct caused (her) great distress,” she said.

“I’m told (by your lawyer) this offence is a result of your antisocial personality disorder.

“I’m not provided with any other assistance in terms of your motivation for the offence.”

Peter Anthony Turnbull en route to Toowoomba Magistrates Court 10/8/22 on charges of indecent treatment of a child (exposure), wilful exposure and stealing.

Mrs Morris told Turnbull if his antisocial personality disorder was indeed responsible for his behavior, she urged him to get assistance, noting when probation tried to help in the past, he didn’t follow through.

“If you ever think you can just deal with this yourself… then just consider the victim in this matter… and how terrified she was because of your conduct,” she said.

“I can see that you are upset.

“Hopefully, that’s a motivator for you to get some assistance so that you don’t cause that fear to anybody else.

“I’m certainly not suggesting (your mental health issues are) easy to deal with, but you need to do something.”

Mrs Morris told Turnbull given the lengthy period of time he had already served in custody, she was limited in her sentencing options.

Turnbull was sentenced to a 276 day jail term and declared the time had been served.

Turnbull will be released from prison on March 25 and will be subject to an 18 month probation order which began in September 2014 for an unrelated offence.

A restraining order will be in place until March 2027, prohibiting Turnbull from contacting the woman, approaching the woman, and making any social media posts about the woman.

The divorced father told the court he did not remember the woman or where she lived.