A 34-year old man who groped more than a dozen women at a Melbourne nightclub has been given a two-year community corrections order and 180 hours of unpaid community work, after facing court charged with multiple counts of sexual assault.
David Maria Anthony Rayan, a former PwC IT worker, faced Victorian County Court on Monday, where he pleaded guilty to 17 charges of sexual assault and one count of attempted sexual assault for attacking 18 women at Revolver Upstairs in Melbourne’s inner east between September and October 2023.
On three separate occasions, CCTV footage inside the nightclub captured Rayan groping his victims (who are unknown to him) on the buttocks, stroking their backs and kissing them on the arms and shoulders.
Rayan confessed to police that he touched one of the women accidentally, but said he could not remember the other incidents because he was intoxicated.
Victorian County Court Judge Peter Rozen did not hand down a prison sentence, (the maximum penalty for sexual assault is ten years) — claiming that he did not find the perpetrator’s risk of reoffending high and that the sexual assaults were at the lower end of seriousness, considering Rayan’s victims were adults and the attacks were fleeting.
Despite maintaining that Rayan lacked insight into his offending, Rozen said the attacks were “deliberate” and that Rayan knew what he was doing.
The judge noted that the women were entitled to feel safe in the nightclub and that the scale of Rayan’s crimes was concerning. He also acknowledged the three victim impact statements which were read to the court, where the victims described ongoing anxiety and a shattered sense of security.
Rozen ordered Rayan to undergo treatment for alcohol abuse and programs to reduce his risk of reoffending.
“I accept this offending was out of character for you,” the judge said, adding that Rayan had no prior offences, pending charges or diagnosed mental health conditions.
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