Suspended sentence over terror leak - Sydney Morning Herald

AAP

A former policeman has avoided jail for leaking "highly sensitive information" on a counter-terrorism raid to a journalist.

The Australian newspaper used the information as the basis of an article outlining the Melbourne raid, the second largest of its kind in Australia, hours before police swooped.

Simon Justin Artz, 42, was sentenced to four months' imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, in the Victorian County Court on Tuesday.

He admitted detailing the terror raid to journalist Cameron Stewart during a meeting at a Southbank cafe on July 30, 2009, in what fellow officers described as a "gut wrenching" betrayal.

Judge Mark Taft told Artz the leak was a "colossal lapse of judgment" for which there was no reasonable explanation.

"I remain perplexed as to why you disclosed information to Mr Stewart," Judge Taft said.

"Whatever the reason for your disclosure of highly sensitive information about a current operation, it can only be described as a colossal lapse of judgment."

Judge Taft said he accepted that Artz now acknowledged the severity of his actions, after initially trying to cover his tracks.

But he said the offending was too serious to consider the defence request for a fine without conviction.

"You were an experienced and trusted police officer at the time you offended and worked in an area of great sensitivity which affected the national interest," Judge Taft told Artz.

"You breached the trust reposed in you by Victoria Police."

Artz had been a police officer for more than 20 years and was a detective-leading senior constable at the Security Intelligence Group at the time of his offending.

Judge Taft said he accepted character references from friends and work colleagues that described Artz as a previously exemplary police officer.

His barrister Peter Morrissey SC told a pre-sentence hearing that neither he nor Artz could explain the reason for the leak.

Artz told Mr Stewart the operation involved Somali Australians with links to the Al-Shabaab terrorist group, when police would conduct the raids and that they were likely to make arrests.

Mr Stewart rang the Australian Federal Police (AFP) within hours of the meeting and the AFP negotiated with the newspaper not to immediately publish the story.

The front page story appeared on August 4, 2009, hours before police launched the raids on several Melbourne homes.

The police raids resulted in three men being convicted and jailed for 18 years for planning to attack Sydney's Holsworthy army base.