February 25, 2009
A Sydney teenager who cannot remember raping an 82-year-old woman in broad daylight after a drunken night out will spend at least three years in jail.
Robert El-Chammas, 18, from Ermington, admitted to sexually assaulting the elderly woman at a park in Anzac Avenue, West Ryde, in the early morning of May 11 last year.
Judge Peter Johnstone sentenced him today to a maximum of five years in jail with a non-parole period of three years.
The teenager, who earlier told the NSW District Court at Parramatta he was ashamed of himself, wiped away tears as the judge handed down the sentence.
The court heard El-Chammas got drunk for the first time ever on the night of May 10, consuming six mixed vodka drinks and spending about $200 on shouts at Kings Cross nightclubs.
El-Chammas said he had no recollection of the attack in which he threw the woman to the ground, punched her several times and raped her.
Reading from the facts before sentencing the teenager, Judge Johnstone said El-Chammas continued assaulting the victim even when approached by a member of the public.
Witnesses in nearby apartment blocks heard the woman's screams and called police who chased El-Chammas as he tried to flee with his pants down.
There was no apparent reason for the attack on the elderly woman, Judge Johnstone said.
"The only explanation is ... that the accused must have been very, very drunk," he said.
In sentencing El-Chammas, Judge Johnstone said imposing the maximum non-parole period would not be appropriate.
"There are factors that call for a departure from the standard non-parole period," he said.
"The fact that this was the first and only offence this offender has committed, his extreme youth, his prospect of rehabilitation and the unlikelihood of his reoffending."
The seriousness of the offence was lessened by the absence of other aggravating factors like planning, abduction or the use of a weapon, the judge said.
He said the teenager had also shown his remorse from the outset and had expressed shame to police, doctors and the court.
During sentencing submissions, El-Chammas was asked by his barrister Ian McClintock SC whether he would have attacked the woman while sober.
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