Pilot gets 13 years
> Sentence handed by Aussie court over 1996 sexual assault in Perth
PETALING JAYA: A Malaysian pilot, who broke into a woman’s home and raped her at knife point in Perth, Australia 21 years ago, has been sentenced to 13 years in prison.
Alfred Gerard Eravelly, 50, was also ordered to serve a minimum 11 years behind bars by the Western Australia District Court yesterday, according to reports by Australian media.
Eravelly, who had lived less than 2km away from the then 39-year-old victim, broke into her Scarborough home in the early hours of March 9, 1996 by cutting the fly screen on her en suite bathroom window.
Wearing a stocking over his head, he then tied her up and sexually assaulted her at knife point.
Eravelly was convicted of rape on April 11 following a six-day trial, after Australian police identified him based on DNA evidence.
He was charged with five counts of aggravated sexual penetration without consent, and one count each of burglary, unlawful detention and unlawful wounding.
The father of two was arrested moments after he flew back to Sydney from Malaysia in February 2016, and was swiftly extradited to Perth.
Police were able to trace Eravelly after DNA samples obtained from the victim’s bedding and breast in 2015 matched that of his sperm that he had ejaculated on a woman’s hair in a library in Florida, United States in the year 2000.
During his trial, it was revealed that Eravelly had fantasised about breaking into a home and raping a woman, while his defence lawyer also claimed his client had a brief consensual sexual relationship with the woman after meeting her in a bar.
Eravelly, who was an aviation student at the time of the incident, claimed he had a consensual sexual relationship with the victim that turned sour when he tried to blackmail her, but his story was rejected by the jury.
The victim, during the trial, denied Eravelly’s claim of an affair with her and said she had never met him before.
She also testified that she felt the blade of a knife against her neck and was told to “do as I say and I won’t hurt you” before he raped her on the bed.