A Melbourne man raped two women in a nightclub toilet and told them about his dead daughter in the horrifying attack
Tuncer Salih was found guilty of two counts of rape following a trial in the County Court of Victoria and was jailed for 16 years on Tuesday. The 45-year-old followed the women into the female bathrooms at Clique nightclub and climbed over the top of their locked cubicle in the early hours of February 2, 2019
One of the two women in the cubicle tried to push Salih back but he overpowered her and told her to “shush” as she fought him. He also spoke about his dead daughter as he forced himself on her. That victim watched in horror as he raped her friend, who was passed out in the toilet cubicle, before she was able to escape and get security
“Your predatory attacks on two vulnerable women in the female toilet of a busy city nightclub in the early morning hours was motivated to satiate a desire for sexual gratification,” Judge Douglas Trapnell said. These are truly appalling crimes
A security guard at the club came in and insisted the cubicle door be opened, where he saw Mr Salih’s pants down and a woman in a sitting position on the floor, he told police.The security guard told police that earlier in the night Mr Salih tried to give him money to allow him to take a woman into the bathrooms – which he rejected
One of his victims told the court in a harrowing statement the impact the crime had on her. “I find myself constantly reliving the night from a third person perspective, trying to piece together the dots,” she previously told the court
She suffered flashbacks and found the court experience difficult.“I am personally terrified about the day when he completes his sentence,” she said. Salih fought the charges at a trial, but was later found guilty on both counts
The judge found his prospects of rehabilitation were problematic because of similar offending, including rapes carried out in the past. He took into account the delay in the case going to trial and the impact of Covid-19 on prison conditions. Salih must spend at least 12 years behind bars before he is eligible for parole