A Perth father-of-two has been found guilty of drugging and raping multiple women and girls over an almost two-year period, with the youngest victim-survivor being only 16-years-old.
Adam Charles Lusk, 45, stood trial in the District Court, where jurors found him guilty of drugging and raping 12 women between April 2020 and January 2022. These women were unconscious or unable to consent.
Lusk was charged with 97 of the 100 charges he faced, with many of the victim-survivors giving evidence.
As reported by the ABC, the women described being offered strongly flavoured drinks made by Lusk at his home before waking up naked and in pain the next morning without any recollection of the previous night.
With many of the women not having memories of the assaults, Lusk was only caught after police seized his phone and found dozens of recordings in a folder marked “secret”.
During the five-week trial, the jury were played graphic videos of the sexual assaults made by Lusk.
Prosecutor Elizabeth Noonan described the women pictured as immobile. Some had “floppy” arms and legs and fell “head first” or rolled off Lusk’s bed and couches during the assaults.
In one instance, there was a 19-minute video of a woman who didn’t move while Lusk repeatedly sexually assaulted her. The footage showed him slapping her face, pulling her hair and prying her eyelid open.
Prosecutor Noonan suggested Lusk made the videos because he wanted to watch them later alone, and that he got “sexual gratification from having sex with unconscious women”.
The youngest victim was aged 16, and three others were teenagers. At one point, Lusk drugged and raped two 17-year-old girls on the same occasion, after he invited them to his home “to party”. Lusk found many of the other victims through a “sugar daddy” dating site.
During the trial, Lusk repeatedly denied drugging the women and describe the inactivity of his victims as them being tired or on recreational drugs.
Evidence was given in court showing copies of messages on an encrypted messaging app of Lusk seeking to buy strong sedative-style drugs in the lead up to his many assaults.
The court heard that Lusk would urge the women to finish strongly-flavoured alcohol shots, with some only remembering taking a few sips before “everything went black”.
After eight hours of deliberation, the jury returned a guilty verdict. Judge Alan Troy thanked them while saying he regretted they had to watch such “confronting” videos. Troy urged the jurors to seek counselling through the service provided by the court.
Lusk’s defence lawyer was granted leave to apply for a psychiatric report prior to sentencing. Lusk is due to be sentenced in December.
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.
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