A Canberra man has been jailed for eight months for raping a prostitute by pretending to pay with an envelope stuffed with paper.
Akis Livas, 52, appeared to be in disbelief when his lawyer explained to him that he would be locked up for the crime.
He pleaded guilty to the charge after he tricked the woman into sex when he did not have the money to pay her.
ACT Supreme Court Judge Hillary Penfold told the court there was no consent to sex when it was obtained by fraud.
Earlier the woman gave a victim impact statement to the court, describing her extreme fear and feeling of violation when she realised she had been duped.
She told the court Livas had booked her for four hours, and brought an envelope stuffed with paper which he pretended was the $850 to pay her.
The woman said when she discovered there was no money, she became scared.
"I felt internally violated, used and dirty," she told the court.
"I fully expected he was going to hurt me.
"He made me complicit in my own rape."
She told the court she has suffered from a lack of trust in others and was still receiving counselling.
"The offence was clearly premeditated," Justice Penfold told the court.
She noted Livas continued to minimise his responsibility and had not shown remorse.
"It seems Mr Livas is still focussed on the event as a commercial exercise," Justice Penfold said.
Lawyers for Livas told the court he was prepared to pay reparations, but the crown told the court none were being sought.
Livas will also serve a two-year good behaviour order
It has been reported that this man had booked this prostitute previously and shortchanged her:
THE EMPTY ENVELOPE
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Tim Blair Blog
Tim Blair
Friday, February 06, 2015 (6:54pm)
A Canberra man has pleaded guilty to rape after tricking a prostitute into having sex with him for free:
Livas first had sex with the woman in October 2010 but didn’t have enough money to pay the full fee.
He vowed to pay the $50 he still owed her on their next encounter, which he booked later that month for $800.
Court documents allege he handed over a sealed envelope and stopped the woman from opening it …
The pair had sex but when the woman opened the envelope she found there was no money inside.
So he’s a thief and a liar – and also, by his own admission, a rapist, although there was no force or coercion involved beyond his broken promise to pay:
The woman recalled she cried uncontrollably as tears ran down her naked body when she realised she’d been deceived, as she read a victim impact statement in court on Friday.
“I felt internally violated, used and dirty. I felt sick,” she said.
In the days after the incident she couldn’t eat, sleep or think properly and she later developed post-traumatic stress disorder, she said.
She told the court she lost trust in her regular clients and her confidence in her ability to screen clients appropriately suffered …
“I am not a victim of my job,” she told the court.
“I am a real woman. I am a rape victim.”
Interesting case. For non-payment following services rendered, Akis Livas has been jailed for eight months. By contrast, a previous Canberra offender walked free after bashing and kicking a man into unconsciousness.
