James Madden
March 17, 2005
The Australian
A 19-YEAR-OLD man from war-torn Sudan allegedly went on a robbery and rape rampage, which included sexually assaulting a woman with a tree branch, less than a month after arriving in Australia.
Police documents tendered to Melbourne Magistrates Court yesterday claimed Hakeem Hakeem bashed, raped and robbed an elderly woman for $185 during the week-long rampage.
Mr Hakeem also allegedly forced a man to rape another woman in Dandenong, in outer southeast Melbourne, before sexually assaulting the same woman himself with the tree branch.
Appearing in court to face 29 charges, including eight counts of rape and one of attempted murder, Mr Hakeem - who does not speak any English - looked sullen and confused as a Sudanese interpreter explained to him that he would be jailed until his next court appearance, in July.
Mr Hakeem arrived in Melbourne from Sudan early last month.
The northeast African nation has been in the grip of civil war for 20 years. Sexual crimes against women are commonplace there.
A spokesman for Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone refused yesterday to comment on Mr Hakeem's residency status.
However, it is believed he moved to Australia as a legal immigrant.
Mr Hakeem, who was arrested on Tuesday, is charged with the attempted murder and multiple rape counts, four counts of unlawful imprisonment, nine of assault, one of indecent assault, one of attempted rape, one of trespass, one of intentionally causing serious injury and three of robbery.
The offences allegedly took place between March 5 and March 12, according to court documents. The 63-year-old woman, whom Mr Hakeem allegedly raped and bashed last Friday, is recovering in a Melbourne hospital.
Mr Hakeem is accused of raping five people on different occasions.
He is also alleged to have assaulted and robbed another victim, stealing a packet of cigarettes while armed with a razor blade.
Detective Inspector Tony Cecchin, attached to the Victorian Sexual Crimes Squad, said police were greatly assisted in their investigation by the large and close-knit African community in the Dandenong area, where most of Mr Hakeem's alleged offences took place.
Mr Hakeem's lawyer, Brent Casey, told the court it was the first time the 19-year-old had been in police custody and that he was visibly upset when arrested. No application for bail was made and magistrate Paul Grant remanded Mr Hakeem in custody for a further hearing in Melbourne Magistrates Court on July 20.
It is not known where in Sudan Mr Hakeem lived before moving to Australia.
In the past two years, about 180,000 people have been killed and more than 1.6 million others displaced from the country's Darfur region, which has been riven by ethnic violence.
The UN described the Sudan conflict and its consequences as the world's worst humanitarian crisis last year but the international body has stopped short of labelling the disaster as genocide.
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