ISIS-Inspired Teen Pleads Guilty to Preparing Sydney Terror Attack

A teenager told a Sydney court he had been considering a mass attack in the city after extremist material on TikTok drew him into increasingly radical and violent online content.

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found it very interesting

Federal police arrested the boy at his Western Sydney home in August 2024, when he was 14. Officers found more than 40 videos containing extremist material on his computer. He cannot be identified because of his age.

At a sentencing hearing in the Supreme Court, the teenager pleaded guilty to acts in preparation for a terror attack. The court heard he conducted online research into possible targets and attack methods, including the use of explosive devices. He discussed locations such as the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Marathon, and showed interest in copying the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing.

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trying to impress them

The boy told the court that he first encountered extremist material on TikTok earlier in 2024 and “found it very interesting”. He later shared extremist content with other people online and said he was “trying to impress them”. When asked whether he intended to carry out an attack, he said he was “thinking about it” and was “50/50” before his arrest.

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thinking about it

The court heard he had not taken steps to obtain materials needed to make a bomb. He now says he has been “de-radicalised” and considers ISIS “absolutely horrifying”. He told the judge he was “deeply sorry” and said he was no longer an Islamic extremist. His defense lawyer described him as a young man who had “seen the error of his ways” after falling “down the rabbit hole of extremist thinking”. He remains on bail at home with his parents, is being homeschooled, has received religious counseling and plans to enroll in a local high school next year.

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deeply sorry