Brisbane churchyard rapist jailed after luring victim on dating site
Within days of being acquitted of sexually assaulting a teenager, Mitchell Cameron Peggie led a young woman into a Brisbane churchyard and repeatedly raped her.
The violation was made even more distressing and humiliating by being in public, Judge Deborah Richards told the 26-year-old as she sentenced him to seven years imprisonment on Friday.
"You just decided to have sex with her and pursue your desires regardless of her protests and her lack of interest," she said.
News break – August 12
Peggie waved to his teary mother as he was led into custody, where he will remain until at least January 2020.
It came after a Brisbane District Court jury convicted the Gold Coast restaurant worker of two counts of rape and one count of sexual assault over the August 24, 2015 incident.
He met his victim via the online dating site Oasis.com and, just days after being acquitted of three counts of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old at a train station car park, met her in the Brisbane CBD for a drink.
There, the jury heard he bragged about his penis size and dating history before walking with the young woman to the grounds of the Cathedral of St Stephen and raping her.
There were tears in the public gallery as the jury announced their verdict, which included not guilty findings for two counts of sexual assault and another rape charge.
In sentencing, Judge Richards noted Peggie was "obviously" intelligent but said he'd chosen to ignore "clear indications" that the young woman was not consenting to his advances.
On the opening day of the trial, crown prosecutor Brendan White said the pair had exchanged more than 200 text messages before meeting, including those in which Peggie told her he liked "rough ****ing" and wanted to meet an "adventurous" girl.
But Peggie's barrister Douglas Wilson had urged jurors to acquit his client because the conduct was "between consenting adults".
"(Rape) doesn't have to be a stereotype of a stranger through a window at night," Mr White responded in his own submissions.
"It happens when a woman says no, and a man keeps going."
