Victim tells court she will ‘always live in fear’ of convicted rapist Mohammad Ahmad-Rezaei

A woman who was raped by a man who claimed he had killed people in his homeland has told a court of her ongoing fear and “damaged spirit”.

A woman who was repeatedly raped by an Iranian man that claimed he had killed people in his homeland has told a court she will “always live in fear” of her attacker.

In a victim impact statement read to the District Court, the woman, who became pregnant after one of the attacks, said Mohammad Ali Ahmad-Rezaei’s “horrible crimes” had made her “day to day life a living nightmare”.

A jury last month found Ahmad-Rezaei guilty of five counts of rape, threatening to distribute an invasive image, threatening to cause harm and threatening a person involved in criminal proceedings.

The woman, who cannot be identified, said she “despised” her attacker, who had made her “always anxious and fearful”.

“I could not sleep for fear that he would turn up at any time … he went so far as to threaten me and my family if I told anyone. I was alone in my suffering,” she said.

Convicted rapist Mohammad Ahmad Rezaei during a police interview. Picture: SA District Court.

The woman said the assaults destroyed her marriage, her family and finances.

“I am afraid for my children’s safety and I feel incapable of protecting them,” she said.

“What will happen to us when he is released from jail? Will we be safe from him? I believe he has the capacity and will harm us.

“The biggest cost to me of what Mohammad did, is my damaged spirit … I will always live in fear.”

The woman, who came to Australia from overseas, said “men have all the entitlements and rights” in her country.

“Women are never believed even when a serious crime like this is committed against them by a man,” she said.

“Often this can cause the woman to be unjustly persecuted … I did not know the law in Australia.

“I am grateful that you believe me.”

Convicted rapist Mohammad Ahmad Rezaei during a police interview. Picture: Adelaide District Court.

The woman’s then husband also provided a victim impact statement to the court and said he also feared Ahmad-Rezaei and his “threats and harassment”.

“Even when I am trying to cross the street or to go to the park I am afraid,” he said.

“I am afraid that my children’s life would be at stake from Mohammad.”

At trial, the jury was told Ahmad-Rezaei had raped the woman several times between 2017 and 2020.

The court heard he threatened to distribute images of the woman, coercing her into being abused again.

He later threatened to run over the woman’s eldest daughter and in a phone call said he had “killed people back in Iran” and that it would be “very easy to kill” the child.

He returns to court in February.