Hoax collar bomber gets 10 years jail

The man who strapped a hoax collar bomb around Sydney teenager Madeleine Pulver's neck has been jailed for at least 10 years.

Paul Douglas Peters had no reaction as Judge Peter Zahra imposed a maximum sentence of 13 years and six months in the District Court in Sydney on Tuesday.

Peters, 52, had pleaded guilty to aggravated breaking and entering and detaining with advantage over the incident on August 3 last year.

He entered the Pulver family home at Mosman, on Sydney's lower north shore, armed with an aluminium baseball bat and the fake bomb, which he attached around Ms Pulver's neck after cornering her in her bedroom.

A document attached to the fake device demanded an unspecified sum of money and said tampering with it would cause it to explode.

The incident sparked a 10-hour police operation before the device was confirmed as a hoax.

Peters has been in custody since he was arrested in the US a couple of weeks later and extradited to NSW.

During sentence hearings, the judge was told Peters had no memory of attaching the collar bomb and now believed his actions were "bizarre and stupid".

A forensic psychiatrist said he suffered from "major depression" in the months before the incident and had taken on the role of a character in a book he was writing.

But crown prosecutor Margaret Cunneen, SC, said Peters got the wrong house when he targeted Ms Pulver and then lied about not being able to remember the incident.

She submitted he meant to target a neighbour of the Pulver family after he suffered financial losses and described it as "an act of urban terrorism".

Ms Pulver and her parents, Bill and Belinda Pulver, wiped tears from their eyes as the sentence was handed down.

Judge Zahra said he was not satisfied Peters was suffering from a significant mental impairment at the time of the offence or that he had assumed a character from his novel.

Instead the judge found Peters was engaged in an extortion attempt.

"He would have appreciated the enormity of what he was doing and the terrible effect and consequences of his actions on the victim," Judge Zahra said.

"The fear instilled can only be described as unimaginable."

Judge Zahra said Peters "intended to place his very young victim in fear she was going to be killed".

"The victim was vulnerable. She was on her own studying for her trial HSC exams.

"She was entitled to the sanctuary of her home."

Judge Zahra said Peters' expressions of remorse to psychiatrists were "guarded and qualified".

Taking into account time already served, Peters will be eligible for parole in August 2021.

Outside court, Ms Pulver said she was pleased the legal process was over.

"I'm pleased with today's outcome and that I can now look forward to the future without Paul Peters' name being linked to mine," she told reporters.

"I realise it's going to take quite some time to come to terms with what happened but today was important because now the legal process is over.

"For me it was never about the sentencing but to know that he cannot reoffend, and it was good to hear the judge acknowledge the trauma he has caused my family and me."

Ms Pulver said she had been surprised to find this year much harder than last year but she felt lucky to have had the support of her family and friends.

Clutching his daughter's hand, Bill Pulver said he was "incredibly proud" of her and relieved at the sentence.

"Maddy Pulver is a very, very special young lady who has handled herself with incredible poise and dignity throughout this entire event," Mr Pulver said.

"We actually feel an incredible sense of relief today.

"The judge I think made (Peters) accountable for behaviour which is simply not acceptable in our community."

Peters had shown no clear remorse for his actions and had never apologised to the family, Mr Pulver added.

"There's only one person in that room who really knows why Maddy ended up at the receiving end of his device," he said.

"He chose not to give evidence, and that is one outstanding issue for us that I guess we will never get answered."

Ms Pulver said she was planning to attend Sydney University next year.

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