Lax Prisons in Australia

The Sydney gang rapes occurred through the last half of the year 2000. There are four known attacks, involving up to fourteen Lebanese men raping young Australian girls and women.

The attacks were led by Bilal Skaf and his brother Mohammed. They caused widespread revulsion in Australia, particularly when the racial element was taken into account. The rapes were identified as 'hate crimes', committed against certain victims simply by virtue of their ethnicity.

Bilal Skaf is serving a 36 year jail term, whilst Mohammed is serving a 23 year term.

It was announced yesterday that not only had they been sharing a cell at Goulburn Jail, the most secure prison in New South Wales, but that mobile phones were discovered in their cell after a tip off.

Officers believe that the items may have been thrown over the prison wall. After a strip search and a spell in segregation, Mohammed Skaf has been moved to Lithgow Jail.

"The (Corrective Services) commissioner and I are going to look at whether it's appropriate for siblings, especially siblings like the Skafs, who have committed an offence like they have, in company, whether they ought to be not only in the same prison but in the same cell," Corrective Services Minister John Robertson told reporters.

Well quite.

The NSW opposition aren't happy:

The NSW opposition has called for a full investigation into the Skafs' possession of the mobile phones to ensure such items do not again make their way inside prison walls.

"When courts send serial rapists like the Skaf brothers to jail ... there is meant to be punishment. The public does not expect them to have access to mobile phones," Opposition Leader Barry O'Farrell said.

Exactly. Here's a reminder of just what these individuals are being punished for:

Attacks

10 August 2000, Thursday

Attackers offered a ride and a portion of marijuana to two teenage girls aged 17 and 18. The women were taken by the attackers to Northcote Park, Greenacre where more collaborators were waiting. The women were then forced to fellate eight males.^[5]

12 August 2000, Saturday

A 16-year-old girl was brought to Gosling Park, Greenacre by who she believed was her friend, 17-year-old Mohammed Skaf. At the park she was raped by Mohammed's brother Bilal Skaf, and one other man, with twelve other men present who she said were "standing around, laughing and talking in their own language".^[6] The second man held a gun to her head and kicked her in the stomach, before she was able to escape.^[7]

30 August 2000, Wednesday

Another woman was approached by attackers at the Bankstown train station, who proposed she join them in smoking some marijuana at another location. She agreed and went with them, however she was taken to three separate locations by the men, raped 25 times by a total of fourteen men, in an ordeal that lasted six hours. After the attacks the woman was hosed down with a fire hose. The woman, who was known during the trial as 'C' to protect her identity, later told her story to 60 Minutes. She told of how the attackers called her an "Aussie Pig", asked her if "Leb cock tasted better than Aussie cock" and explained to her that she would now be raped "Leb-style".^[8]

4 September 2000, Monday

Two women, both 16, were taken by the attackers from Beverly Hills train station to a house in another suburb, where three men repeatedly raped them over a period of five hours. One of the victims was told that "You deserve it because you're an Australian".^[9]

Further attempted attacks

A further series of gang rapes were said to have been attempted, but thwarted. Four of the attackers were also convicted for an attack on Friday 4 August 2000 when they approached a fourteen-year-old girl on a train where she was threatened with violence, punched twice and slapped,^[10] told that she would be forced to perform fellatio on several men and that she was going to be raped.^[11]

The prison service should give them no comfort or quarter during their stay at the taxpayers' expense.