A Melbourne man who posed as a health officer to threaten a young nurse with sexual acts has been jailed for three years and six months.
Abdulfatah Omar Awow, 26, pleaded guilty in Victoria County Court on Tuesday to charges of aggravated robbery and attempting to procure sexual acts by threat for the offence, which was committed in July this year past
Awow, who lives with his family in Carlton after fleeing Mogadishu to Somalia when he was a child, worked for a company contracted by the Victorian Department of Health to check whether Victorians were being isolated and provide information to contact tracers.
On July 14, Awow called the victim, who was living in Australia on a student visa, as part of his job to check on his quarantine status.
Awow took a photo of the victim’s personal details, including her address, and called her at the end of her shift.
He arrived at 9.20pm pretending to be a department, was let into the victim’s house and proceeded to take notes and photos inside.
Awow told the victim that the latest solitary confinement requirements had changed and that she was breaking the law and could have her deported to her native Taiwan.
However, he told the victim she could stay if she “made him happy”, the court heard.
Awow asked the victim to perform sexual acts, both of which were refused, before taking her phone and translating a message into traditional Chinese telling her she would be protected if she accepted.
He told her that other women had accepted his demands.
In sentencing, Judge Angela Ellis said Awow’s offending amounted to a “serious breach of trust” and said the public had a right to believe their personal information would be protected.
“You preyed on a vulnerable young woman,” Ms Ellis said.
The court was told the victim now suffered from PTSD disorder and had moved to Sydney as a result of the ordeal.
The court was previously told that prior to the offending, Awow used cocaine and benzodiazepines on a daily basis.
But Awow’s friends told the court he had been influential in the local community and had a strong record of volunteering and organizing community events.
An imam described Awow in court as an “honourable individual”.
Awow will be eligible for parole in two years.
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