A 43-year-old Rockingham man has appeared in the Northbridge Magistrates Court today (Saturday, 19 February 2022), charged with allegedly making hundreds of harassing phone calls to a Federal Government Department.
Australian Federal Police officers arrested the man yesterday after he allegedly made more than 700 calls to the switchboard of the Federal Attorney-General's Department between 9 December 2021 and 10 February 2022.
Police will allege the calls were targeted and repetitive with the man allegedly calling at intervals of between two to five seconds over a three-hour period on 9 December. The man was also allegedly abusive to operators during some of the calls.
AFP officers arrested the man at his Rockingham home yesterday and seized numerous electronic devices including a mobile phone allegedly showing calls to the Federal Attorney General's Department.
The man has been charged with one count of using a carriage service to harass staff of the Attorney General's Department switchboard operations, contrary to section 474.17 of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth).
The maximum penalty for the offence is five years' imprisonment.
AFP Commander Western Command John Tanti said no one should be harassed or threatened at work or elsewhere and the AFP has zero tolerance for this criminal behaviour.
"These types of calls are not only a frustrating waste of resources for the offices targeted, they can be distressing and concerning for the people who answer them," he said.
