An Australian teenager facing terrorism charges was “infatuated” and “seduced” by a British recruiter for Islamic State (ISIS) a court has heard.
An 18-year-old Melbourne man, who was 17-years-old at the time of the alleged offences and can not be identified, has pleaded guilty guilty to the charge of obtaining documents relating to an improvised explosive device (IED) as well as partially constructing an IED with the apparent intention of comitting a terror act, according to an AAP report.
The barrister defending the unnamed man told the court in a pre-sentance hearing on Monday that the accused was under the influence of British jihadist Junaid Hussain (pictured above, from YouTube). He had allegedly exchanged multiple messages with Hussain prior to his arrest in raids in May 2015.
According to the defence, it amounted to the seduction and grooming of a child.
Hussein “provided a good deal of encouragement” the defence barrister told the court.
“The prisoner was effectively infatuated with the man. He admired him as a great leader,” he said.
“It is difficult to exclude it as a relevant factor when one considers the seduction of a child.”
It is understood that Hussein was also involved in a 2013 foiled terrorist attack in London and was killed in Syria in 2015.
Prosecutors told the court that the accused teenage man had partially constructed a pipe bomb similar to that used in the Boston bomings.
Encrypted documents found in the May 2015 raid contained photos with the titles: “Make a Bomb in the Kitchen of your Mom”, and “Pressure Cooker Backpack Bomb with Switch Detonator”, the prosecution argued.
According to the AAP report, the password protecting the documents and photos was Arabic for ‘Islamic State Forever’.
The hearing continues.