University student Scott Braeden Belcher who raped friend granted permission to appeal sentence

A UNIVERSITY student who digitally raped an intoxicated friend while she slept has been given permission to appeal his jail sentence.

Scott Belcher outside the District Court.

• Uni student jailed for raping friend
• Victim confronts rapist with the true impact of his crime

A UNIVERSITY student who digitally raped an intoxicated friend while she slept has been given permission to appeal his jail sentence.

Scott Braeden Belcher, 21, of Lockleys, had pleaded guilty to rape over the incident at Dulwich in October, 2013.

Last month, District Court Judge Steven Millsteed sentenced him to three years, seven months and three weeks’ jail with a non-parole period of one year despite Belcher’s pleas for any jail time to be suspended.

His lawyer, Lindy Powell, QC, today told the Court of Criminal Appeal that if Belcher could not be considered for a suspended sentence on this charge then no one ever could.

“If there ever was going to be a suspended sentence this was the case,” she said.

In earlier sentencing submissions, Belcher’s counsel had submitted his young age, his remorse, his psychological mind frame at the time of the rape and unlikeliness to reoffend meant a suspended jail sentence was justified.

In her victim impact statement read to the court in July, the victim, who was 18 at the time of the rape, told Belcher “it is unacceptable for you to believe and act with power and control over women.”

The court had heard the victim was “heavily affected” by alcohol after drinking with friends at a city hotel when Belcher offered to take her home.

He said that Belcher, who had been studying an economics degree after earning high marks at Scotch College, initially assisted the woman but digitally raped her three times as she slept. Digital rape is defined as penetration with a finger.

Prosecutors had also not opposed a suspended sentence but Judge Millsteed disagreed, ruling immediate jail time was necessary to deter others and show women deserved the full protection of the law regardless of their intoxication.

Justice Trish Kelly granted permission for Belcher to appeal his sentence which will be heard at a later date.