Hayas Kardo jailed for five years for raping woman asleep in spa bath at Adelaide Aquatic Centre

A judge has jailed the Adelaide Aquatic Centre rapist – and praised his victim’s inspiring courage and strength in the face of his crime.

A judge has praised the victim of the Adelaide Aquatic Centre rape for her courage and urged her to resume her “impressive” career, saying “we need all the strong women we can get”.

On Wednesday, District Court Judge Liesl Chapman jailed taxi driver and former Kurdish freedom fighter Hayas Kardo for five years, ordering he serve at least 28 months before he can seek parole.

After sentencing, she addressed Kardo’s victim as she sat in the public gallery.

“I’m sure you have found this a very difficult journey … from where I stand, you are a very strong woman,” she said.

“Your ability to achieve your career is really impressive … I hope that you can get back there.

“You are a strong woman, and we need all the strong women out there that we can get … I wish you all the best for the future.”

Hayas Kardo outside court during his trial. Picture: Kathryn Birmingham.

Kardo, 63, was found guilty at trial of raping a woman, 27, as she napped in a spa bath in 2018, but has continued to proclaim his innocence.

In her victim impact statement, the woman told Kardo she had “no room in my heart” to hate him for his “selfish, depraved act”, and had opted to forgive him – for her own sake.

In May, a forensic psychologist said Kardo had scored low on a Canadian-created risk assessment test, making him a “tolerable hazard” with a 2.5 per cent chance of reoffending.

Kardo, meanwhile, claimed he had been bashed in prison by a white supremacist gang motivated by the 9/11 terror attacks and asked for a merciful non-parole period.

The Static 99R Test, designed by Canadian authorities to determine the future risk posed by convicted sex offenders. Picture: Supplied.

Kardo following his arrest. Picture: Nine News.

In sentencing, Judge Chapman said she accepted the result of the test and the expert opinions that supported it.

“Ultimately, your risk of reoffending is my judgment to make … I’m not here to blindly follow a risk-assessment tool or another person’s opinion,” she told Kardo.

She said Kardo’s failure to show any remorse, contrition or insight was “concerning”, but accepted it was borne of his denial – which had “complex” roots including cultural issues.

However, none of that erased the need to deter him and others from raping women.

“The message is that men will go to jail if they sexually assault women in this way … such crimes must be publicly denounced and offenders punished by imprisonment,” she said.

Allowing for the 26 months he spent on restrictive home-detention bail, Kardo will be eligible to seek release on parole from March 30, 2023.