Man allegedly filmed himself repeatedly raping drugged, unconscious woman

CONTENT WARNING: This article discusses an alleged sexual assault.

The alleged conduct of a man accused of filming himself repeatedly raping a woman while she was drugged and unconscious speaks to “a desire to control, degrade and humiliate”, a magistrate has said.

The woman passed out after 27-year-old Damian Arne Hojlund gave her drugs in September 2022 and she could not remember the rest of the night, court documents allege.

It was not until some time later when the woman was going through his phone that she allegedly discovered videos of him assaulting her while she was unconscious.

About 20 minutes’ worth of footage allegedly showed the woman snoring while Mr Hojlund spat in her face several times, slapped her and repeatedly raped or sexually assaulted her.

She took the videos to police in October and they began to search for Mr Hojlund, arresting him in Queanbeyan and extraditing him to the ACT. He’d been living in a tent at the town’s Riverside Cemetery.

Mr Hojlund represented himself when he launched his second bail application in the ACT Magistrates Court on Wednesday (21 December), reading out a letter he had written to acknowledge the “wrong actions” he’d taken.

He asked for a chance “to prove [his] innocence”, saying the allegations have had a massive impact on his mental health and he argued he couldn’t properly defend himself while in jail.

“Being in the AMC [Alexander Maconochie Centre] for the first time has woken me right up,” he said.

He also said he wanted to prove to the courts “this is not what it is. It’s actually been misconstrued completely”.

“I want to fight this,” he said.

Prosecutor David Swan read out transcripts of calls between Mr Hojlund and others recorded from the AMC.

“I love drugs. That’s my problem,” Mr Hojlund apparently said in one call.

In another, he said, “my veins start pumping, feed me, feed me”, while another allegedly recorded him saying the “first thing” he was going to do when he got out of jail was take drugs.

He also allegedly talked about leaving Canberra and going back to Wollongong.

Mr Swan alleged the woman appeared to be “lifeless” in the videos. He also said Mr Hojlund had already identified himself as being in them.

Mr Swan claimed there was an “overwhelmingly” strong prosecution case and Mr Hojlund likely faced an inevitable term of lengthy imprisonment, which added to the risk of him failing to appear in court if he was granted bail.

Magistrate Louise Taylor said it was “difficult to resist” Mr Swan’s submissions on how conditions could not mitigate the risks Mr Hojlund presented on almost every criterion of bail. She agreed there was an overwhelming prosecution case.

Bail was refused and the matter was adjourned to 17 January 2023.

Mr Holjund has been charged with three counts each of sexual intercourse without consent and capturing visual data.

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 13 11 14. In an emergency, call triple zero.