Two rape victims have expressed fury over what they describe as a stark contrast between their cases and the intensive and rapid Victoria Police investigation into allegations of sexual assault involving Sydney Swans players.
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they → express → players
Despite having never met, both women detailed remarkably similar experiences, claiming they were treated with hostility while their cases were beset by unnecessary delays and police under-resourcing.
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cases → meet → delays
One believes she may never see justice after the man accused of drugging and raping her in South Melbourne last month was able to flee home to Mexico after Victoria Police failed to place a border alert on him.
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Police → believe → him
The women’s decision to speak publicly come as Victoria’s unsolved sexual-crime case rate soars to record highs.
Sam, who waived her legal right to anonymity but asked that her surname not be used, now regrets notifying police after she was allegedly raped in May by a man she met on a dating site.
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she → speak → site
Her frustration over the handling of the case turned to fury last month when she observed the police response to claims of sexual assault involving a group of Sydney Swans players at the Pullman East Melbourne hotel.
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she → turn → hotel
“Excuse my language, but it made me f---king livid.
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me → excuse → language
Clearly, they’ve got the resources when it comes to a high-profile case because they know that they’ll be under media scrutiny.
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they → get → scrutiny
But for a normal person like myself, the lack of care is just so evident,” Sam told The Age.
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Sam → tell → Age
“They can fly detectives into New South Wales to question them within a couple of weeks, but they can’t go a suburb over to go and pull someone in for questioning.”
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they → fly → questioning
For 30-year-old Katie Arthur, the trauma from the police’s response to her complaint has, in some ways, eclipsed the alleged crime itself.
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trauma → eclipse → crime
Arthur felt a similar fury to Sam’s about the pace of the police response to her case.
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Arthur → feel → case
While pleading to come in and provide her statement sooner, she remembers asking – in a moment of exasperation – “What if I said I was raped by a football player?”
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I → plead → player
“I can’t process what has happened to me because I’m too busy now trying to process the letdown of the police [response],” she said.
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she → process → response
Arthur has also given permission for her full name to be published.
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name → give → permission
“No one grows up dreaming of being the [rape victim in the paper].
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one → grow → paper
But I now see the media as such a powerful outlet to speak on behalf of victims that have been let down by the one system supposed to protect them.”
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that → see → them
A Victoria Police spokesperson said the force had been in “constant contact” with both victims and detectives had referred them to support services.
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detectives → say → services
“Both [investigation] teams are progressing these matter as quickly as possible, noting the cases are complex, and we must ensure investigations are thorough,” the spokesperson said.
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spokesperson → progress → matter
“We also want to be clear that any report of sexual assault is not treated any differently because we have someone with a high profile involved.”
Arthur was allegedly drugged and raped on August 2 by a tenant staying at her midterm accommodation business.
Grappling with shame and shock, she struggled to process the alleged attack before eventually reporting the incident to police on August 18.
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she → want → August
Arthur was forced to wait another 10 days to make a formal statement, despite pleading to come in earlier and repeatedly warning police via phone and email that her alleged attacker was a flight risk.
“I am concerned the alleged rapist will leave the country as he is on a 5/6 month student visa,” she wrote in one email shared with The Age.
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she → force → Age
Detectives from Melbourne’s Sexual Offences and Child Abuse Investigations Team (SOCIT) informed her they were too busy, with one detective citing crippling understaffing, claiming their team of five was juggling 108 active cases.
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team → inform → cases
Victoria Police said the delay in recording a statement was to ensure there was enough time to make a detailed report.
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delay → say → report
Despite Arthur’s warnings, the accused fled the country on August 20 or 21 – but she didn’t find out until September 3 despite being terrified that a sexual predator was still residing at her property.
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predator → accuse → property
“I needed to know if he was still in the country,” she said.
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she → need → country
“Not only for my safety, but he was living at the business I run.
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I → live → business
I have a duty of care to my other tenants.”
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I → have → tenants
After making her statement, Arthur said detectives stonewalled her requests for updates, and questioned why she took two weeks to make her complaint.
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she → make → complaint
“You’re saying you will judge the severity of someone’s case by how quickly they come forward.
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they → say → case
It’s disgusting.
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It → ’ → ?
You may as well say, ‘Don’t come forward unless you’ve been raped that day’,” Arthur said.
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Arthur → say → ?
A detective outside of Melbourne SOCIT is now reviewing the unit’s handling of her case after Arthur lodged a complaint.
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Arthur → review → complaint
Victoria Police said: “We take any allegations against the conduct of our members seriously and have strict procedures and policies in place.
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We → say → place
“No alert was issued for restrictions on international travel because police did not have evidence to meet the legal threshold required to prevent the person leaving the country.”
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police → issue → country
Arthur is now grappling with the reality that the man accused of attacking her may never face justice.
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man → grapple → justice
“I can’t explain the trauma of not only experiencing assault ... but being forced to be your own advocate, and feeling like you are not believed.
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you → explain → assault
“It’s just as traumatising as being assaulted.”
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It → ’ → ?
Sam agonised over whether to make a report to police.
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Sam → agonise → police
“I sat outside Oakleigh police station and tried to go in, and I was just numb and had no idea what to do.
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I → sit → what
And I was afraid of not being believed,” she said.
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she → believe → ?
Sam underwent a forensic examination at Monash Hospital the day after her alleged assault on May 18.
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Sam → undergo → May
…and 21 more, not listed.
The Aporia
