Teen prepared for Vic terror attack: court

A 17-year-old who admits preparing to commit an act of terror has faced an adult court in Melbourne.

A 17-year-old who admitted he made preparations for a terror attack on Melbourne has faced an adult court.

Investigators say the radicalised teen was planning to make improvised explosive devices using items he had gathered from hardware and kitchen stores.

Steel pipes fitted with caps and boxes of screws were discovered under the teen's bed during a police search of his family home, court documents show.

Police also say they found manuals entitled, "Pressure Cooker Backpack Bomb with Switch Detonator" and "Make a Bomb in the Kitchen of your Mom" on encrypted computer software owned by the teen.

He bought a pressure cooker at the end of April last year, telling a kitchen store clerk it was for his mother, according to police.

Prosecutors have previously said the threat posed by the teen is one of the closest Victoria has come to a terrorist attack.

The 17-year-old, who cannot be named, was formally arraigned after he pleaded guilty last month to a charge of engaging in an act of preparation for, or planning, a terrorist act between April 25 and May 8, 2015.

Supporters of the youth were in court on Friday for the hearing, during which he said he was guilty of the charge.

He was arrested last May after a police raid on his family home.

The teen will be prosecuted in the adult court after prosecutors won their bid to have the matter uplifted from a Children's Court, which can impose a maximum sentence of three years.

The teen, who turns 18 next month, was due to face the Supreme Court, which can impose a life sentence, but the Supreme Court said the matter ought to be heard by the County Court.

He was remanded in custody to return to court on June 6 for a plea hearing.


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Source: AAP



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