John Howard Amundsen
| John Howard Amundsen | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1966 |
John Howard Amundsen (born 1966) gained some notoriety in 2006 being one of the first Australians to be charged under new anti-terrorist laws. Initially suspected of being a part of a wider terrorist plot, it quickly became apparent that Amundsen acted alone and was suffering from substantial psychiatric illness. An only child living with his mother in his Aspley childhood home, Amundsen was a loner who built few lasting friendships both at school and in the workplace. With a long time fascination with law-enforcement, it is interesting to note that a 1995 psychiatric assessment found that he suffered from a delusional disorder in which he claimed ongoing persecution by the Queensland police service.
"In general, Mr Amundsen complained that he had been subjected to overwhelming harassment by a Queensland Police Service officer or officers over a significant period of time," the report says. "He believed his driving and his home were subject to surveillance. He believed that he was stopped regularly and routinely on the roads for 'random' breath alcohol tests and other matters."
After his employment as a journalist ended, he studied education and in recent times taught the subjects of Graphic Design and Industrial Technology and Design at Ferny Grove State High School. In this period, it appears that Amundsen descended into a downward psychiatric spiral in which he became an increasing risk to the community.
He was sentenced to six years in prison and released on parole in 2009.
In February 2010, Amundsen was jailed for affixing a GPS tracking device to the car of a couple he was allegedly stalking in September 2009.[1]
In October 2014 Amundsen was further sentenced over another charge of stalking, going back as far as 2011, after a lengthy trial in which he represented himself and, in the words of the trial's judge, spent three weeks "making speeches". Amundsen was noted to be considerably disruptive during proceedings, interrupting others at length and ignoring warnings about them. Upon the jury's guilty verdict, Amundsen further lapsed into hysterics, decrying the jury members as having "failed a good, decent, Christian man", and pressing that he lived by "God's laws", claiming his criminal charges dating back over a decade were all part of a "left wing plot" by Feminists.[2]
References
- ↑ Stalker used GPS to track ex's family, court told, Brisbane Times, 24 Feb 2010
- ↑ Stalker slams jurors after guilty verdict, Sunshine Coast Daily, 10 October 2014
- Bombs man 'delusional' The Advertiser, 14 May 2006.
- Bin Laden in the classroom Sydney Morning Herald, 11 May 2006.
- School teacher faces court over bombs Yahoo7 News, 11 May 2006