A Seymour man who raped a woman on three separate occasions has been jailed for seven years.
The 31-year-old man pleaded guilty in Shepparton County Court to two counts of rape.
Each rape charge is made up of three actual rapes that occurred during three separate incidents in 2016.
Judge Geoff Chettle said the man had gone into the woman’s bedroom on three occasions and “forced yourself on to her” between February 1 and April 30, 2016.
“She told you ‘no’ and told you to stop,” he said.
The man had been living in the woman’s Seymour house at the time of the rapes, but had his own bedroom in the house.
The court was told he had been involved in a short de facto relationship with her previously.
The court was told of a night between February 1 and 28, 2016, where the woman awoke to the man with his hands down her pants.
He left when she told him she did not want to do anything, but he later returned and raped her.
On a second occasion, between February 14 and March 14, 2016, she told the man he had “Buckley’s chance” of having sexual intimacy with her.
The two fell asleep in the same bed, before later she awoke to him touching her breast and when he tried to kiss her, she said “no”, before he raped her twice.
On a third occasion, between April 1 and 30, 2016, the woman was in bed and told the man she did not want to watch a movie when he asked if she wanted to.
The court heard he then became aggressive towards her and raped her twice while she physically fought against him.
Holding down her wrist with one hand he asked if she had finished fighting and then said “come on, just this once”.
He raped her a third time as she continued to struggle.
Judge Chettle said the crimes had an impact on the woman who has since been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and emotional detachment disorder.
“She clearly feels damaged,” he said.
Judge Chettle noted that the man claimed he had been physically abused while growing up, and also that he reportedly did not talk until about the age of eight.
He also said the man had consumed alcohol since he was a child, and had had an addiction to methamphetamines before he was taken into custody after this incident.
Judge Chettle said a psychologist’s report said the man was not able to admit his guilt over the offending, and the psychologist identified him as high risk for re-offending.
He also noted the man had a prior criminal conviction for rape and another sexual offence, and as such, sentenced him as a “serious offender”.
According to the judge, these incidents were a “mid-range” example of rape, with the third incident the most serious.
“It involves more violence and a greater number of charges,” he said.
The man was sentenced to a total of seven years in prison, and will have to serve four years and six months before he is eligible for parole.
He has been in custody since his arrest two years and 10 months ago, and the judge ruled the 1032 days of pre-sentence detention be counted as time already served.
The man was also placed on the sex offenders’ register for life.