Robert Wilson: Man jailed for 'grossly horrific' rape of woman after holding her captive for five days
Warning: Graphic content
An Australian man who kidnapped a woman and then went on to beat and rape her repeatedly in a five-day reign of terror has been sentenced to 22 years in prison. Thirty five-year-old Robert Wilson, a father-of-two, had met the victim on dating app Badoo.
Wilson was sentenced at Victoria's County Court on Friday, July 22, after pleading guilty to the horrific crime he committed against the 39-year-old woman. The victim met Robert, 35, through dating app Badoo before she was locked in a bedroom at his house at Darley in Melbourne's northwestern suburbs from March 25 to 29 in 2019.
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Convict threatened to turn victim into a 'money making machine'
Recalling the horrific ordeal, the woman said the moment she stepped outside the bedroom door into a hallway, an alarm would be triggered to notify Wilson. He threatened the woman that if she tried to escape, he would kill her, deport her or turn her into a "money-making machine" by inviting men around to have sex with her. The woman underwent severe physical torture, faced humiliation and was beaten until her face was so swollen she could hardly see.
On Friday, July 22, Wilson was sentenced to 22 years and six months in prison by County Court Judge Fiona Todd. Wilson will be registered as a sex offender for life, and must serve 16 years before being eligible for parole. Just before he locked the woman inside his home and held her as prisoner, Wilson was reportedly discussing plans to move in with the woman.
He kept track of the victim's movement
Wilson tracked the victim's movements on his property using security cameras; his house was surrounded by metal shutters and an electric fence. During the assaults, Robert would beat her with a metal bar, held a speargun to her head, strangled her and and asked her, "Do you want to die?" He even forced the woman to delete her phone and Facebook contacts and transfer him money.
Wilson released her after five days, on March 29, 2019. He drove the victim to her house and threatend her with dire consequences if she revealed the incident to anyone. Wilson pleaded guilty to false imprisonment, three counts of rape, theft and intentionally causing injury.
'Boundless cruelty'
Judge Todd described the crime as 'grossly horrific'. The judge wanted the sentence to reflect the gravity of the attacks and the seriousness of the gruesome violence. Judge Todd said, "This was boundless cruelty."
She said the heinous crime had a devastating impact on the victim, who might never contemplate being in another relationship with a man. Reading the victim impact statement, Judge Todd said, "She was paralyzed with fear much of the time you harmed her, but her will to survive was strong." The judge added, "She said she feels different now, thinks that she will never be normal again."
Judge Todd lauded the victim's 'herculean' efforts in narrating the ordeal to her friends, police, the courts and for undergoing days of cross-examination.