Central Coast man who used 'gratuitous cruelty' to torture multiple women jailed for 27 years

[Guest Nicole]

A Central Coast man who raped and tortured a succession of women over more than two decades has been sentenced to at least 27 years in jail.

The 53-year-old man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was found guilty of 55 charges relating to the physical, sexual and psychological abuse of women he lived with between 1988 and 2014.

The man, who was a member of the Jehovah's Witnesses, was accused of raping the women with household objects and detaining them.

The sadistic nature of the offences included bashing and raping the women for not folding washing correctly, making them eat off the floor, locking them in wardrobes and hog-tying them and placing them face down in a bathtub full of water.

A number of the women have suffered permanent physical injuries stemming from the abuse.

One of the women known as JF was locked in a cupboard after calling her sister who contacted police.

When police visited the home, the offender said she had gone out.

In her victim impact statement JF said "It's hard to understand the fear unless you have lived with it," and that she "frequently believed she wouldn't be alive the following day".

In handing down the sentence in the Downing Centre District Court, Justice Sarah Huggett said the man used "gratuitous cruelty ... designed to emphasise a victim's powerlessness and helplessness".

"When one victim found the strength to escape, he found a replacement," she said.

"I have no doubt there was foresight, premeditation and planning."

Justice Huggett said the degree of violence was a relevant consideration in the sentence and that the offender was "frightening, controlling and undermining each victim's sense of security".

The court heard that while in custody, the man had been verbally aggressive towards visitors and nursing staff.

The man will be eligible for release in 2041.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-10-13/man-who-tortured-women-jailed-27-years/9046326

[Rosalie Barry]

He doesn’t sound like any Witness I have ever known in the 48 years that I have been a Jehovah’s Witness, I think he may be just saying he is a Witness',

[Evacuated]

On 10/14/2017 at 8:50 PM, Nicole said:

The man, who was a member of the Jehovah's Witnesses

Says "was", not "is".

Even so, is as relevant as his collar size or number of toes to the report without contextual reasoning.

He seems to have got off lightly by the way

 

[TrueTomHarley]

On October 14, 2017 at 3:50 PM, Nicole said:

The 53-year-old man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, 

I'd like to know what they are. 

This is a heinous crime he was found guilty in a court of law. Only the religion that he was once connected with - whether at present or 20 years ago is not specified - can be named.

Can anyone imagine this being said of Harvey Weinstein? - that he cannot be named 'for legal reasons?' And he hasn't even been tried yet. And why haven't we heard about his religion?

[David Normand]

On 10/14/2017 at 3:50 PM, Nicole said:

The man, who was a member of the Jehovah's Witnesses, was accused of raping the women with household objects and detaining them.

 

The statement that he was a member of the Jehovah's Witnesses does not appear in the article that was posted. Is there another article that specifically links the perpetrator to Jehovah's Witnesses. Also, that entire phrase seems awkward grammatically when compared to the rest of the article. 

[Guest Nicole]

@David Normand you are right, I see a note below the name of the person who posted it,  saying that it was updated  

By Antonette Collins

Updated Tue at 12:28am

[Andreas Meier]

So either they were not allowed to print that information either, so the newspaper needed to re-edit the article, or the information was untrue.

But I doubt it was fully untrue, maybe he was JW in a former life. But certainly not an attending JW. It is not so easy to "fnd a replacement" wife for an attending JW. They elders would probably notice something ...

Still a horrible story. Let it be said, we have predators and monsters in our society, so they are part of all groups, even religions. JW are not excluded.

On a psychological level, these people look for salvation too, and in the process often try to live up to adherent rule sets, but that does not change what they are, and it comes out after some time, usually more violent than before.

[David Normand]

One of my daughters likes to bring up articles she reads when it mentions JWs in situations such as this. I kindly point out to her that in any large group you are always going to find people who don't live up to the group's standards of conduct. True of religious, political, and social organizations. We live in a world made up of imperfect people so it is nuts to expect all members of any group to act appropriately at all times. It just is not going to happen.