Stalker John Kirk admits series of personal protection order breaches

John Owen Kirk, 30, was due to be sentenced in the ACT Magistrates Court on Tuesday after previously pleading guilty to a stalking charge.

However, the plan changed when he pleaded guilty to 12 new charges of breaching a personal protection order.

Defence lawyer Rachel Bird said the court would probably now benefit from a pre-sentence report, prompting magistrate Ian Temby to adjourn the sentencing until July 20.

Kirk, who had appeared in a blue shirt, was wearing grey when he eventually emerged from the court building.

He tried to hide under his new shirt when reporters, who still recognised him, took pictures while being abused by his purple-haired supporter.

"Why don't you get a real job instead of being filths of the Earth?" the supporter asked.

The Canberra Times previously revealed Kirk's nearly four-year campaign of harassment, during which he replicated one of his victim's tattoos on his own skin.

Court documents show Kirk met his victim at a mutual friend's birthday party in Kambah in 2019.

The woman's reluctance to exchange phone numbers set off a chain events that began with Kirk posing as a fictitious ex-boyfriend to abuse her on Snapchat and then sending her a video of himself holding a knife.

He also lay behind a car to prevent her leaving an area, and incessantly sent the woman unwanted gifts that included Swarovski crystal bears and a framed collage featuring the victim.

At another stage, he even approached her at the gym, dropped a bag of gifts at her feet and ran away.

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Court documents show the victim also received a deluge of anonymous letters, many of which had postage markings that indicated they had travelled through Queensland.

Investigators would later discover Kirk had paid a Queensland resident nicknamed "tiger" to write letters to the victim. He transferred this person more than $23,500.

Some of the missives professed Kirk's love for the woman.

Others threatened her to drop the personal protection order she had taken out against him, stating she would lose the legal battle and go to prison where she would be raped.

In the week leading up this order lapsing, Kirk posted images on his social media accounts of a countdown to its expiry.

His social media posts are largely devoted to expressions of love for the victim, including pictures of four tattoos he has got since meeting her.

These are a replica of one of the woman's own tattoos, as well as part of her name on his right leg and her initials on each of his arms.

Another of his posts features a picture of himself and the words "I'VE BEEN STALKING AGAIN".

Kirk, who at one point moved to a place 900 metres from the victim's home, is now listed as living in the NSW country town of Harden.

He was arrested on the Monaro Highway on May 9 while driving his ute, on the back of which was a sticker bearing the victim's initials.

Kirk was subsequently granted bail, and is set to remain on conditional liberty as he awaits sentencing.

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