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Nicholas Crilley: Rapist appeals his 7 life sentences for drug-fueled heinous torture of woman over 23 days

The victim, a 22-year-old woman, was reportedly so critically injured that emergency responders thought she was dead

BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA: Nicholas John Crilley, who was given seven life terms for raping and torturing a woman over 23 days in Brisbane, is reportedly appealing his sentence and conviction. His victim, a woman who wasn't identified, was so critically injured that emergency responders thought she was dead.

Crilley is now appealing his sentence and conviction three years after he received seven life sentences for his drug-induced violence. The convict appeared at Brisbane's Court of Appeal via video link on Thursday, March 2, and represented himself for his conviction appeal. Meanwhile, solicitor Chelsea Waters appeared in court on behalf of Crilley for his sentence appeal.

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'Difficult hurdle to overcome'

Crilley pleaded guilty to 62 offenses in 2020, including grievous bodily harm, deprivation of liberty, torture, and 18 counts of rape in connection with what prosecutors described as a "sadistic" attack. The convict's "callous and cruel" treatment of the 22-year-old woman in Brisbane in June 2017 left her permanently disfigured. Court of Appeal President, Justice Debra Mullins, said Crilley faced a "difficult hurdle" in his conviction appeal. She told him on Thursday that he would have to establish there was a grave miscarriage of justice when the court accepted his guilty pleas. "That's quite a difficult hurdle to overcome. It's not impossible," Mullins said. "I am sure around prison they do talk about that every now and then somebody succeeds in an appeal against a conviction where there was a guilty plea. But quite frankly there have to be exceptional circumstances."

Crilley said he re-applied for Legal Aid funding for the conviction appeal after failing the merit test. "While preparing my case I've come across quite a bit of material that makes my argument much stronger," the convict said, adding, "I think I have strong grounds to get funding for it." He insisted he would represent himself should his bid for Legal Aid fail. Justice Mullins, however, told Waters that pursuing a sentence leave application would have to be put on hold until Crilley's Legal Aid funding issue was sorted out. A review is expected to be held in three months. "You've really got to put your skates on and do something about pushing your application with Legal Aid for the funding," Mullins told Crilley. "It's really to investigate whether you've got grounds to some part of your guilty pleas," she added.

Drug-induced delusional state

It's worth noting that Crilley's victim sustained several broken bones, internal injuries, deep lacerations, and burns to 46 percent of her body during the 2017 assault. The suspect was taken into custody following a dramatic police chase involving multiple stolen cars. According to Daily Mail Australia, the arrest ended a month-long methylamphetamine-induced delusional state that "triggered false beliefs and much of the violence." In May 2020, Brisbane District Court's Judge Anthony Rafter handed Crilley five life sentences for the rape offenses and two life sentences for malicious acts with intent, all to be served concurrently.