Grindr rapist and wanted man assaulted teen, burgled victim in crime spree

CONTENT WARNING: This article refers to sexual assault.

A man was hunted by police when he escaped from hospital after committing a range of crimes, the “gravest” of which was the repeated sexual assault of a teenager.

The horrific violence began early one morning in late 2022 when Mohammadiman Aghahosseini sent a message to the teenager over the gay dating application Grindr and offered to pay him about $250 to meet in person so he could perform a sex act in front of him.

The teen thought he looked about 10 years older than the photo he had shown him when they met up, and when he started touching him, the teen told him, “No, that’s not what we talked about”.

But Aghahosseini repeatedly raped and indecently assaulted him, even though the teenager told him to stop around 20 times.

He also pressured the teen to smoke from a “crack pipe” and, at one stage, he pulled out a pocketknife then told him to wait while he showered.

The teen was worried about the knife and was not sure how the abuser would react if he saw him leaving when he had told him to stay, but he began recording evidence, getting Aghahosseini’s phone number and taking photos of his room and tattoos.

Aghahosseini repeatedly raped the teenager again before he was able to escape and went to a police station.

Meanwhile, on 24 October 2022, a former employer had driven Aghahosseini to a 7-Eleven service station in Mawson before the latter grabbed his victim’s $2000 iPhone 11 and dragged him out of the car onto the ground while stealing it. He also pushed his victim in the face and kicked him in the leg while he was on the ground.

Aghahosseini then used the man’s internet banking accounts to steal about $7000, although $3000 was later returned.

Then, on 7 November 2022, Aghahosseini burgled a former friend’s home in Harrison, stealing two iPhones before returning them.

However, he returned to burgle the home again on 10 November 2022, stealing items like an iPad, a laptop, three iPhones and an Apple watch. When his friend caught up with him, Aghahosseini hit him in the head, making him bleed.

After Aghahosseini was arrested, he was taken to Canberra Hospital for a mental health assessment, but he escaped.

He was arrested in Sydney on 5 December and extradited to the ACT.

During his sentencing hearing in the ACT Supreme Court on Wednesday (12 June), the prosecutor said this was an unusual case due to the diversity of the crimes but described the sexual offences as “the gravest of the conduct”.

In the written submissions, the prosecutor wrote that the author of a court report said while Aghohesseini accepted he committed the sexual offences, “he was primarily concerned with the impact to himself and gave no consideration to the victim of his offending”.

The court heard the 38-year-old has already spent about 18 months in custody and was diagnosed with schizophrenia, although he had been under what was characterised as a drug-induced psychosis during his crime spree.

His lawyer, Legal Aid’s Nathan Deakes, said he arrived in Australia on a boat at considerable expense to himself and his family, mostly to try to make a better life for himself.

The court heard it is almost inevitable that his visa will be cancelled and he will be deported to Iran when he is released from custody.

“The offending has potentially destroyed any prospect of the offender living a fruitful, prosperous life in Australia post-release,” Mr Deakes wrote in his written submissions.

He also wrote that Aghahosseini had attributed his conduct, at least in part, to his heavy drug use at the time, as he was consuming illicit substances every day.

Aghahosseini, who speaks Farsi but little English, pleaded guilty to four counts of sexual intercourse without consent, three counts of theft, two counts of burglary, as well as single counts of robbery, assault, escaping custody and obtaining property by deception.

He is expected to be sentenced on 19 July.

If this story has raised any concerns for you, 1800RESPECT, the national 24-hour sexual assault, family and domestic violence counselling line, can be contacted on 1800 737 732. Help and support are also available through the Canberra Rape Crisis Centre on 02 6247 2525, the Domestic Violence Crisis Service ACT 02 6280 0900, and Lifeline on 13 11 14. In an emergency, call Triple Zero.