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“The community is fed up with the cowardice of men like you,” Riddell said.
“The sinister nature of partner violence is exacerbated by the fact that it is often hidden. A secret scourge for the community.”
Despite appearing in court almost every year of his adult life, the court heard that men had avoided charges of sex offenses until recently, offending new and old victims every time he was released from the age of 18. years.
While some of his crimes are too graphic to detail, the court heard that he drowned his victims repeatedly until they fainted, raped one victim while he was unconscious, and struck another with a hammer.
One of Male’s teenage victims had known him for only a few days when he detained and abused her for weeks in a bungalow behind his house in Altona Nord. He raped another in his mother’s dining room.
The four women were vulnerable, some homeless and some young mothers, according to the court. They had nowhere to go when men became friends before starting relationships.
Men were charged with more than 130 crimes against nine women in 2017, but five cases of women did not go to trial.
After two separate trials in 2021, he was found guilty of 24 counts against four women, including nine counts of rape and 10 counts of intentional injury.
Judicial records show that the men had been treated by the courts for almost every year of their adult life until their arrest. These crimes included prison sentences and suspended sentences for crimes of violence and weapons, armed robbery and endangering others.
Andrew Males in more recent years. Credit:
He was on bail, and on parole, for other crimes during his offense against the four women.
Judicial records also show that the men were previously convicted of violent assaults on two other women with “creepy” looks.
“Despite repeated involvement with the authorities and periods of imprisonment, you continued to commit serious examples of violence and sexual violence,” Riddell said.
“A lifetime in the criminal justice system did not deter you.”
Since then, a formal risk assessment has stated that men are in the highest risk category of recidivism, and the judge acknowledged that it would pose a serious danger to women when released.
The men, who had shown no remorse, called their victims ill-treated on Thursday, but their insults were hidden through the glass of the dock.
Men must be 20 years and 10 months old before they are entitled to parole.
He will also be on the register of lifelong sex offenders.
Out of court, a victim, Julie, whose last name has been retained, told The Age that she hoped the long sentence would encourage others to speak out.
Still physically and emotionally marked by the abuse she suffered for more than eight years, she urged other women not to be silent.
“I never thought the police would believe me if they reported him because what he did was so horrible, like something out of a horror movie that no one would think was real. But they did,” he said.
“If you stay, the pain will only get worse.”
Support is available from National Sexual Assault Service, Domestic Violence Counseling Service a 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).
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