This Malaysian Pilot Was Found Guilty Of A Rape He Committed 21 Years Ago In Australia
He was a student in Perth at that time.
By Sadho Ram — 15 Apr 2017, 12:52 PM
Earlier this week, a Malaysian commercial airline pilot was found guilty of raping a woman at knifepoint more than two decades ago in Australia. He was a student at that time and living in Perth.
According to the news site Perth Now, the accused, Alfred Gerard Eravelly, broke into his victim's home in Scarborough in the early hours of 9 March 1996.
He was wearing a stocking over his head and after tying up his victim, he raped her.
Eravelly, who lived less than 2km away from the woman at the time of the offences, later returned to Malaysia where he became a pilot.
He was arrested in February 2016 shortly after he flew back to Australia from Malaysia and landed in Sydney. From there, Eravelly was swiftly extradited to Perth.
Alfred Gerard Eravelly stands wearing racing leathers next to a girl whose face is blurred to protect her identity.
Image via ABC News via FacebookEravelly told detectives following his initial interview he wanted to tell them what happened but not on video tape, reported Perth Now
He claimed to have dated the woman and had consensual sex with three times before the night in question and that he tied her up as part of a kinky, consensual sex.
Although, he "made a confession" after police turned off their camera that he had been a "peeping Tom" and seen her through her bedroom window.
Eravelly revealed to police he had a fantasy about breaking into a home and raping a woman, however, he didn’t enjoy acting out the fantasy.
However, his defence lawyer Tom Percy said Eravelly had begun a consensual sexual relationship with the woman about a week earlier
Tom Percy said that his client was invited to the house and tied the 38-year-old woman up as a way to "excite him". "This was simply part of the sex play on the night," he said.
According to the defence lawyer, things between the two turned nasty when Eravelly, then a cash-strapped aviation student in Perth, threatened to tell the woman's boyfriend about their sexual activity if she didn't give him money, reported The West Australian.
"Effectively, he was blackmailing her. She told him to get out and said words to the effect of 'You bastard. I'm going to get you. Watch the news tonight'." Tom Percy said.
It was only in 2015 that DNA samples taken from the woman's bedding and breast were matched to the accused, due to advancement in DNA technology, that led to Eravelly being arrested
On her part, the woman rejected Eravelly's claim that they were having an affair.
The woman, aged 38 at the time, said she had never met Eravelly and that she feared she was going to be killed during the assault that night in 1996.
Following the assault, police collected DNA samples from the woman's bedding and her breast which, after advances in forensic technology, matched to Eravelly in 2015.
She told the court she was so traumatised by the attack she immediately had security screens installed on her windows and a panic button next to her bed.
After a short trial at the District Court of Western Australia, Eravelly was found guilty on all charges and will be sentenced on 22 June
