Court sentences serial CB radio 'pest'

An Adelaide man was sentenced to nine months’ imprisonment on Thursday, 3 September in the Adelaide District Court for unlawfully operating and possessing radio communications devices.

The sentence was suspended in favour of a two-year good-behaviour bond, but all equipment used in the commission of the offence has been forfeited to the Commonwealth by order of the Court.

The conviction is the harshest penalty yet handed down for such an offence.

It follows an investigation by the ACMA into allegations of abuse and harassment by John Alexander Kiss while operating on the Citizen Band Radio Service (CBRS) in the Adelaide area.

Kiss pleaded guilty in February 2015 to one count of unlicensed operation and two counts of unlawful possession of radio communications devices under sections 46 and 47 of the Radiocommunications Act 1992.

“This is an important outcome for the CBRS community, the vast majority of whom use the CBRS in a responsible and appropriate fashion,” said ACMA Chairman Chris Chapman.

“The CBRS is there to benefit all Australians. It is not a platform for individuals to target and abuse other legitimate users. While we recognise that CB users’ behaviour can vary, Mr Kiss’s contraventions were so severe that regulatory intervention was needed,” Chapman added.

The matter was successfully prosecuted by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions.

The ACMA’s investigation into John Alexander Kiss commenced after numerous complaints were received alleging that users of the CBRS in the Adelaide area had been threatened and harassed. The allegations were serious in nature.

The CBRS is a two-way, short-distance communications service that can be used by any person in Australia, whether it is for recreational or domestic purposes, or in connection with work or business. This service is commonly known as CB radio.

A person operating a CB station must not:

• operate the station in a way that would be likely to cause a reasonable person to be seriously alarmed or seriously affronted; or
• operate the station for the purpose of harassing a person.

The operation of CB radios is authorised under a class licence, the current version of which is the Radiocommunications (Citizen Band Radio Stations) Class Licence 2015.

Following its investigation, the ACMA compiled evidence in relation to these allegations and referred the matter to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP). The CDPP subsequently charged Kiss with the following offences:

• Operation of a radio communications device otherwise than as authorised by a licence.
• Possession of radio communications devices, for the purpose of operation, otherwise than as authorised by a licence.
• Reckless conduct resulting in substantial disruption and disturbance of radio communications.