Rapist who preyed on a drunk woman who was thrown behind bars

Bacash picked the woman up from a pub in Richmond in the early hours of April 9, 2017, after hours of drinking with friends.

He started driving to her home in Melbourne’s south-east but stopped near the Princes Highway while she was unconscious and removed her underwear.

The woman woke up to Bacash raping and sexually assaulting her in the front seat of his car.

Bacash then saved her phone number by calling his cellphone from her phone before driving the victim home.

She asked Bacash if he was a taxi driver or taxi driver, which he denied.

The woman reported the incident to friends, her mother and a doctor, showing the bruises on her inner thighs and revealing pain in her groin.

Bacash also sent the woman text messages and tried to call her in the weeks after the attack.

The woman filed a police complaint in January 2019 and Bacash was arrested and interrogated in February 2020.

He told officers he regularly took women home and “when things happen, they happen”, claiming some female passengers became “touchy” so he had consensual sex with them.

Bacash also claimed he did not remember the victim, although he did not deny driving her home.

The jury convicted Bacash in March of the 2017 rape, and he pleaded guilty to separate offenses including possession of a drug of addiction and handling stolen property.

Bacash was originally charged with two more rapes, but he was found not guilty of one rape and charges against the second were dropped.

In sentencing Bacash on Tuesday, County Court Judge Martine Marich ruled that the 2017 attack was somewhat spontaneous but also predatory.

“Her state of intoxication would have been clearly visible,” the judge said.

“She was isolated and vulnerable as a result of her condition.”

The woman now suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and cannot have relationships with men.

“Although the offense was relatively brief, it left a legacy of trauma,” Judge Marish said.

She noted that Bacash continues to deny the offense and refuses to participate in rehabilitation programs for sex offenders in custody.

But Judge Marich said she placed less weight on specific deterrence and the protection of the community when considering his sentence.

The judge accepted that Bacash was the carer of his elderly mother and it was more difficult for him to be in custody because of their separation.

He also had no previous convictions and the support of his family and friends.

Judge Marich sentenced Bacash to seven years in prison, but he will be eligible for parole after four years and 10 months.

She did not place him on the sex offenders register.

1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)

National Sexual Abuse and Redressal Support Service 1800 211 028