A US tourist with a dark sense of humour has been slammed after he terrorised fellow international visitors at a popular wildlife park just days after he arrived in Australia for a four-week holiday.
Alex Clark, 26, spent a night in custody after he poked a female tourist in the ribs with a knife handle as a joke and jokingly told another he would turn the man into ‘street pork buns’ while staying at Walkabout Wildlife Park on the NSW Central Coast last week.
He appeared at Gosford Local Court via audio-visual link where he pleaded guilty to two counts of stalk or intimidate intending to cause fear of physical harm, common assault and armed with intent to commit indictable offence.
Clark and the two victims from Germany and Canada were all guests staying at the Calga tourist attraction while undertaking voluntary work, agreed facts tendered to the court stated.
The court heard Clark was a welder from Utah who arrived in Australia on August 7.
A court has heard how a US tourist jokingly told another international visitor he would turn the man into ‘street pork buns’ during a stay at Walkabout Wildlife Park (Pictured: previous guests staying at the wildlife park
The next night, Clark was in the cabin area of the wildlife park when he told a fellow male tourist he could kill him and turn him into street pork buns.
Clark and other guests were in the ranger’s cabin preparing food the next day when he pulled out a 4-5-inch bladed bowie knife which he pointed at the same male victim he frightened the night before, the Central Coast Advocate reported.
‘If you weren’t afraid to sleep, are you afraid now?’ Clark told the tourist.
The same day, a female tourist was looking at a spider exhibit while she and Clark were preparing food for animals when she felt a poke into her right ribs.
‘She looked down to her right and saw a knife sheath held by the accused. She saw him holding the knife handle,’ the facts stated.
The woman told Clark, ‘Don’t do that, I don’t think it’s funny,’ the court heard.
Alex Clark and two victims from Germany and Canada were all guests staying at the Calga tourist attraction (pictured) while undertaking voluntary work
The court heard Clark was in possession of the knife that he’d brought with him to Australia when he was arrested by police at the wildlife park last Thursday.
During his police interview, Clark admitted to all three incidents but insisted he was ‘joking’.
Clark’s defence told the court her client had ‘picked up a dark sense of humour in his workplace’ back home and all three incidents were ‘attempting to make a joke’.
She said Clark joked there was a spider on the female victim and poked her with the knife handle.
‘He recognises that wasn’t the most appropriate joke,’ she said.
She said her client also acknowledged he made the male tourist feel uncomfortable at dinner the night before.
The US tourist is now banned from returning to Walkabout Wildlife Park (Pictured: The cabin area at the park)
Clark was convicted of one charge of the stalk/intimidate charges and the charge of armed with intent to commit indictable offence.
He wasn’t convicted of the second charge of stalk/intimidate or the common assault.
Clark was also sentenced to a 12-month conditional release order, fined $2,250 and has been banned from the Walkabout Wildlife Park.
‘Clearly your sense of humour is not appreciated by others. It seems a strange way to establish relationships,’ Magistrate Jennifer Price told the tourist.
The court also heard Clark was ‘scared, afraid and wants to go home as soon as possible’.
Alex Clark was convicted on two of the three charges and fined $2,250 when he appeared in Gosford Local Court via videolink
ncG1vNJzZmhqZGy7psPSmqmorZ6Zwamx1qippZxemLyue82erqxnp5a5rK3BqKytZaeeuaW4yJ%2BcZqiRp7hur8Clnpplpah6tbvUq6CsrF2Xrq%2B6xJ1kn6qfonqvv9ZmmK2sopawtbXOp2SanqSav27AxKupqKqZqLavs4yvoKyhpKS%2FtHs%3D