Sydney man jailed for 'opportunistic' rape
EDS: Note language in second-last paragraph.
By Sophie Tarr
SYDNEY, Sept 11 AAP - A man who snatched a mother-of-two from a Sydney park and brutally raped her while she pleaded for her life could walk free from jail in less than four years.
Michael Omar was out on a court bond in winter 2004 when he attacked his 39-year-old victim in Bankstown, in the city's southwest, as she was out on her usual morning walk.
"She screamed out for help and was immediately struck from behind again," Sydney District Court Judge Clive Jeffreys said on Thursday.
"She said, `Don't kill me, don't kill me. I've got two kids at home, please don't kill me'."
Then Omar ordered the woman to close her eyes, pushed her down and in the dim light, forced her to perform a sex act before raping her.
She was so badly beaten during the ordeal that she was blinded for days, Judge Jeffreys said.
He has sentenced Omar to a total of six years and 10 months behind bars over three counts of aggravated sexual assault and one charge relating to a violent armed robbery at an Auburn butchery in 2006, where he made off with $60.
Omar will also serve time for breaching his original bond, which related to stealing from the finance company where he worked in 2001.
The earliest the 32-year-old will be eligible for parole is August 2018.
"The level of violence was considerable," Judge Jeffreys said in relation to the rape.
But he described both crimes as opportunistic.
"I am satisfied that the offender is deeply ashamed about his actions and has shown deep contrition," he said.
Omar began experimenting with cannabis at 15 and by his early 20s had graduated to cocaine, Xanax, heroin and crystal meth, the judge said.
He was kicked out of home at 19 after he was caught stealing from his employer in a bid to "show off" with a flashy lifestyle.
Judge Jeffreys said Omar, now drug-free, had described himself as a "f***ing monster" and was plagued by flashbacks and visions of what he had done.
The physically imposing rapist appeared to cry in the dock as the judge detailed his crimes in chilling detail, and at one stage was offered a box of tissues by a court official.
