Tuesday, March 01, 2005

A brief history of Sydneys' muslim gang rapist's


Bilal Skaf (l) & Mohummad Skaf (r)
Wikipedia
Sydney gang rapes
http://www.answers.com/topic/sydney-gang-rapes

The Sydney gang rapes were a series of five separate crimes involving rape which occurred in Sydney , New South Wales , Australia . The first four occurred in the southern hemisphere winter of 2000 , and the fifth in 2002 . The common thread in these cases was that the perpetrators were gangs of young males of Muslim origin (Lebanese in the first four cases, Pakistanis in the fifth), while the victims were females of European descent. The perpetrators were alleged to have made racist comments against their victims in the course of the offences, leading some to categorise them as hate crimes . During the trial of one of the offenders, Bilal Skaf , text messages sent on his mobile phone were disclosed, containing sentiments such as "When you are feeling down ... bash a Christian or Catholic and lift up".

Actions taken by government ministers, including the Premier of New South Wales , Bob Carr , who publicly identified the perpetrators' background, led to a great deal of controversy. Community groups complained that Carr was smearing the entire Lebanese Muslim community with the crimes of a few of its members, and that his public comments would stir up ethnic hatred.
The separate gang rapes were, in chronological order:
August 10 , 2000 - Two females aged 17 and 18 accepted a lift from Chatswood , lured by the offer of marijuana. They were taken to Northcote Park, Greenacre, where they were forced to perform oral sex on eight males.
August 12 , 2000 - Another victim was raped at gunpoint by two males at Gosling Park, Greenacre, having been lured there by one of the rapists, who was an acquaintance. She escaped before she could be raped by another twelve males waiting their turn.
August 30 , 2000 - A woman, named C at the trial (she later revealed her identity on the 60 Minutes television program) was lured from a train at Bankstown by the promise of marijuana. She was then raped at three separate locations by 14 males over a period of six hours. As a final humiliation they hosed her down with water.
September 4 , 2000 - Two 16 year old females were lured from Beverly Hills train station to a house in Lakemba , were they were raped by three males over a period of four hours.
Other rapes were attempted, but were not carried out. The West Australian ("Reign of terror by mobile phone and the promise of a smoke", July 31, 2002) reports that a 14-year old girl was approached by four males on a train on August 4 , 2000, but she escaped before she could be harmed. One of the attackers was quoted as saying on his mobile phone, "I've got a slut with me bro, come to Punchbowl."
The sentences handed down to the offenders were very severe. Bilal Skaf , ring leader of the August 30 gang rape, was sentenced to a total of 55 years' imprisonment.
The public uproar caused by the gang rapes led to the passage of new legislation through the Parliament of New South Wales , dramatically increasing the sentences for gang rapists by creating a new category of crime known as aggravated sexual assault in company. Also in the course of one of the trials, the defendants refused counsel claiming that all lawyers were against Muslims . This led to the contentious prospect of the defendants being able to cross examine the witnesses themselves, a situation that was averted by further legislation being put through the New South Wales parliament.
The first court case heard under the new sentencing regime concerned the gang rapes of two young women, who were lured by five men of Pakistani origin, including four brothers from one family, in Ashfield on July 28 , 2002 . The four brothers received a total of 70 years' imprisonment. As of the end of 2004 appeals by the convicted are still under way.

It's worth going to the web link to see the various links built into the story .

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