PHONE TERROR

MAN MAKES HUNDREDS OF RAPE, KILL THREATS

A MAN who made 198 phone calls to a 12-yearold girl he didn’t know and made obscene sexual threats has been jailed.

A Townsville court yesterday heard the man, 40, used 37 different phone numbers to call random people between March 8, 2018, and November 27 last year, including to one woman who he called 107 times in one day.

He also called Crime Stoppers to report the future murders of two cops with “semi-automatic weapons and two hand guns”.

THE actions of a man who randomly called 17 people hundreds of times and threatened to kill and sodomise his victims have been slammed by a judge as “perverse predilection”.

Adrian James Sudgen, 40, used 37 different phone numbers to call random numbers between March 8, 2018, and November 27 last year.

The Townsville District Court heard Sudgen called a Melbourne psychiatrist five times on March 8, 2018, and breathed heavily down the phone.

On May 26 last year, Sudgen called a woman 107 times and said he would rape her, hurt her and “rip her pants off”.

Federal prosecutor Catherine Ferguson told the court that between August 2 and August 15 last year Sudgen called a 12-year-old girl 198 times.

Ms Ferguson said Sudgen told the girl: “I am going to break into your house and put things out of place, sneak past your parents’ bedroom and put my d--- in your arse”.

Sudgen called Crime Stoppers on August 30 to report a bomb and called back the next day to report the future murders of two cops with “semiautomatic weapons and two hand guns”.

The court heard Sudgen told Crime Stoppers: “I’ve had enough of the cops I am going to shoot the c---s dead and then I am going to kill their families”.

Police arrested Sudgen on September 2 and he was granted bail on November 14.

Sudgen was rearrested on December 9 after making 200 phone calls and sending 50 text messages to a woman from November 23-25 making extreme sexual threats.

Sudgen pleaded guilty to 17 charges including nine counts of use a carriage service to menace, harass or cause offence and one count of use a carriage service for a hoax threat.

Defence barrister David James told the court his client’s face and eye was seriously assaulted with a stick in 2005 that caused a brain bleed. Mr James presented to the court a mental health fitness report and said Sudgen had been diagnosed with a delusional disorder, PTSD and depression.

“He was a positive member of society until after he was the victim of the attack resulting in significant physical and also serious psychiatric impairment,” he said.

Judge Gregory Lynham told Sudgen his offending was “appalling”, “nasty”, “bizarre” and “deplorable”.

“The re-occurring theme in all of your offending involving all your civilian complainants is what seems to be a perverse predilection to wanting … anal intercourse with the victims.”

Judge Lynham declared the 259 days spent in pre-sentence custody and sentenced Sudgen to two-and-a-half years’ jail with a recognisance release date of June 11 this year.

Convictions were recorded.