Alleged hoax caller in court

The 22-year-old man allegedly behind the February 13 bomb scare at Ashburton College appeared briefly Judge Dominic Dravitzki in the Ashburton District Court yesterday.

The Ashburton man, who had been granted interim name suppression, faces two charges in relation to the fictitious bomb threat.

Police were alerted about 8.30am on February 13, after the school received a bomb threat.

Ashburton College pupils were ushered out of class for 40 minutes until the police gave the all clear.

The man was arrested at his home address shortly after 9am on the same day.

He faces a charge off providing a false statement about a bomb threat and a second charge of using a telecommunications device to report a fictitious bomb threat.

Lawyer Paul Bradford asked the judge to adjourn the case while police considered whether they would offer the man diversion.

Diversion is an opportunity for people facing relatively minor offences as first time offenders to fulfil conditions set out by the police to avoid a conviction on their record.

The man will appear again on April 8. Judge Dravitzki said interim name suppression would be reconsidered then.

Ashburton College was hit by a second bomb threat a few days later -believed to be by a different person.

Principal Simon Coleman said a message threatening a bombing incident at the school on February 19 was left on the school’s phone system, and picked up by an administration staff member in the evening of February 18.

The staff member called Coleman about 7.30pm and police were then contacted.

The second call was routed through a VPN in the United States.

By Sharon Davis