Stalker John Kirk's ACT Magistrates Court sentencing delayed

John Owen Kirk, 30, faced the ACT Magistrates Court on Wednesday, when he pleaded guilty to two new charges.

The man was set to learn his fate, however, Chief Magistrate Lorraine Walker adjourned Kirk's sentencing for a second time.

She indicated a potential mental health diagnosis "may go some way to address what is otherwise bizarre behaviour".

Ms Walker ordered a mental health report and adjourned the sentence hand-down for several months to allow time for this.

"It's important we have full understanding of Mr Kirk's motivators and factors," she said.

Kirk had previously pleaded guilty to a raft of charges including stalking and contravening a protection order.

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 of 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.

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.

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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.

Kirk is set to return to court in January 2024.

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