A 26-year-old man who was arrested by counter-terrorism police last month has been convicted for possessing the digital blueprint to manufacture 3D firearms.
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The Orange man - who cannot be identified due to a non-publication order - was charged with the offence after a raid on his home on September 10 uncovered dozens of component parts for a firearm, instructional files on how to assemble a 3D semiautomatic pistol, and items which investigators said demonstrated support for right-wing extremism.
According to court files, counter-terrorism investigators said that the video files found on the man's phone indicated his "desire to manufacture a FGC-9mm firearm".
Under the Firearms Act of 1996, it is a serious offence to attempt to manufacture the gun and carries a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison.
In addition to a Nazi-Swastika flag that was attached to his bedroom wall and a large canvas banner which read "Hitler was right", police found stickers, clothing, books and other paraphernalia which represented militant Australian white supremacist groups, Nazism and other "Ideologically Motivated Violent Extremism symbols".
The man's online history had similarly showed his support for right-wing extremism, including an account on the social media messaging platform Telegram called "jewstomper".
On Monday, the 26-year-old appeared in Orange Local Court via AVL from the hospital inside Long Bay Correctional Complex.
According to his lawyer, Mason Manwaring, the offender had been admitted to the prison hospital due to the rapid decline in his physical and mental health since he was taken into custody on September 10.
"In all the time he's spent in custody... the consistent message is that he is doing poorly. He was already a thin man, weighing around 70kg, but now he's down to about 60[kg]," Mr Manwaring said.
"Ultimately, he is a young man [and this is his] first time before the court, [where he is additionally] charged with a serious offence."
Magistrate David Day took this into account, acknowledging that the current state of the hospital prison system meant that "you don't get into a bed in a prison hospital unless you really need to be there".
Police prosecutor Beau Riley said that while the man was only charged with one offence, it didn't fully convey the seriousness of the investigation conducted by counter-terrorism officers.
The court also heard that prior to the man's arrest, he had held full-time employment and was highly regarded by his employer. So much so, that in addition to providing the court with a character reference, the man's employer also said that he could recommence working at the company with conditions if he escaped a full-time custodial sentence.
During Mr Day's deliberations over the appropriate sentence, he condemned the 26-year-old man's "anti-social" behaviour, calling white supremacism and right-wing ideology "dehumanising, cruel," and "blood-thirsty".
"The movement of National Socialism [or Nazism, as it is more commonly known] is contradictory to all the conventions that followed the Second World War," Mr Day said.
While Mr Day called the man's crime "a most serious offence", he explained that the most important part of sentencing was deterrence, and due to his age and employment status as well as the impact being in a correctional facility had had on the young man, the magistrate said his prospects for rehabilitation through a community-based jail sentence were strong.
The man was sentenced to an intensive community corrections order with supervision for two years.
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