SYDNEY, Dec. 11 (Xinhua) -- An 18-year-old young man, found guilty by a jury in September, has been given a 16-year jail term with a non-parole period of 12 years in Australia on Tuesday, for plotting a terror attack when he was 16.
"At the time of his arrest, the offender was ready, willing and able to carry out a terrorist attack," the judge who presided over the case Justice Geoffrey Bellew said in court.
Arrested in October 2016, police became suspicious after the teenager downloaded materials from a known terror group which advocated for the murder of Australians.
Later in the month, the young man then went to a gun store in Sydney to purchase knives and downloaded more terror materials which urged followers to use "fixed blade" in terror attacks.
When he was swooped on by police, officers seized two backpacks containing knives, several items of clothing, neck gaiters and a handwritten pledge of allegiance to a terror group.
"The evidence when viewed as a whole establishes a clear plan to use the knives to inflict death or serious injury," the judge said.
"He was arrested in an area where he expected there would be appropriate targets... he purchased weapons he then secreted, he carried camouflage gear, he took steps to ensure he could not be traced," the judge said.
"It reflects a considerable degree of forethought, intelligence and guile... I am satisfied the offender's return to extremist ideology was a product of his own volition, unencumbered by the influence of others," the judge said.
The man will be eligible for parole in October 2028.
