Two men and two boys, one aged 14, have been charged over the alleged six-hour gang rape of a 17-year-old girl in Sydney’s south-west last year.
The alleged crimes are “the most serious sexual offenses you can commit”, according to Detective Superintendent Jayne Doherty, Commander of State Crime Command’s Sex Crime Squad, who is investigating the case.
“They’re in company, the degradation and the sexual acts they [allegedly] committed on the poor young girl in a pack, it’s horrific. It has even shocked my investigators,” Doherty told 2GB’s Ben Fordham on Wednesday morning.
“It beggars belief the age of these young males,” she said about the alleged perpetrators whose ages range from 14 to 19.
NSW Police were able to track down the accused due to the “strength of the victim”, with Doherty saying the 17-year-old girl “was able to give a very detailed statement over a number of days.”
Last year, on December 15, at a shopping centre in Liverpool, police allege the girl was approached by one of the males, who is accused of following her to her car where she reluctantly let him inside.
The male allegedly sexually assaulted her before asking her to drive him to a park in nearby Sadleir, which she agreed to on the understanding that he would then leave her alone. At the park, two other males allegedly got into the car and sexually assaulted the girl, and a fourth male drove to the scene before the sexual assault continued while she was being driven around.
The four males left the girl in her car at 11:30pm. Afterwards she called a friend who drove her to Liverpool Police Station to report the incident.
Five days after the alleged assault, on December 20, police arrested two teenagers.
A 16-year-old boy from Condell Park was charged with 24 offences, including various counts of sexual intercourse without consent, aggravated sexual assault in company, inflicting actual bodily harm, and sexually touching another person without consent.
A 14-year-old boy from Miller was charged with 10 offences, including aggravated sexual assault in company, inflicting actual bodily harm, and sexually touching another person without consent.
This week, two further arrests were made on Tuesday when NSW Police executed simultaneous search warrants in Sadlier and Heckenberg.
An 18-year-old male was arrested in Sadlier and charged with nine counts of aggravated sexual assault in company. This male was underage at the time of the alleged offence, and he has been refused bail and will appear before a children’s court on Wednesday.
A 19-year-old man was arrested at Heckenberg on Tuesday and later charged with five counts of aggravated sexual assault in company. He was refused bail and will appear in Liverpool Local Court on Wednesday.
Doherty has said extensive support has been offered to the alleged victim, who has been speaking with investigators.
“She’s a brave young girl,” Doherty said. “The recollection of this incident would be traumatic and horrible, but she’s sat with my investigators for hours and has gone through what has happened to her, which has given us a good basis to gather further evidence and be able to prove this matter against these males.”
“This is something that will be with her forever. Sexual assault is one of the things that is carried over very deeply inside and can really affect the rest of your life.”
If you or someone you know is experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, domestic, family or sexual violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732, text 0458 737 732 or visit 1800RESPECT.org.au for online chat and video call services.
If you are concerned about your behaviour or use of violence, you can contact the Men’s Referral Service on 1300 766 491 or visit http://www.ntv.org.au.