Rapist assaulted woman because of 'entrenched sense of entitlement' in 'deeply concerning' views, court finds

CONTENT WARNING: This story refers to sexual assault.

A man who raped a woman held an “entrenched sense of entitlement to engage with [his] victim as he wished” because he thought they were in a relationship, in an attitude described in court as “deeply concerning”.

During sentencing in the ACT Supreme Court on Friday (13 September), Justice Louise Taylor said the 52-year-old man had demonstrated an “ongoing absence of insight” over how his offending affected his victim.

Region is not naming the man for legal reasons.

He met a woman online in April 2020 and the two began a relationship. While they would break up, the two were “attempting to work things out” by 13 January 2021.

“At about midnight, the offender and the victim went to bed together,” Justice Taylor said.

Early the following morning (14 January), the victim was woken when the man pushed her onto her side.

The offender began to sexually assault the woman, telling her to “just relax” when this woke her up. The assault lasted for a period of 10 to 15 minutes.

While he claimed the victim was awake, Justice Taylor found the 52-year-old knew the victim was asleep, and therefore unable to consent.

“There is nothing in the agreed facts that would find an inference that the offender was operating on the basis that the victim was awake,” she said.

Justice Taylor accepted text messages shared between the offender and the victim in the aftermath of the assault, where he said he felt “sorry” and “ashamed”, as proof.

She described the offender’s behaviour as “somewhat predatory” and coming at a time when the victim was “acutely vulnerable” because she was asleep.

“The offending occurred in the victim’s own bed, in her own home, a place where she was entitled to feel safe and secure.

“The offending represented a breach of trust, the victim having allowed the offender into her home on the basis that they were working through issues in their relationship.

“By his conduct, the offender betrayed that trust.”

The offender had shown limited empathy for his victim and no genuine remorse for his actions, Justice Taylor found.

“The offender’s inability to conceive of the harm caused to the victim speaks to an ongoing absence of insight into the criminality of his conduct,” she said.

The 52-year-old man was sentenced to a two-year sentence for one charge of sexual intercourse without consent.

This would be suspended after six months when the man would be required to undertake educational programs in relation to sexual offending, which Justice Taylor said would “expose to him the archaic and dangerous nature” of his opinions on consent and relationships.

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.