Mohamed Ghanem caught dealing 1kg of ice while on parole wants softer sentence

A Skaf gang rapist wants a softer sentence after he was caught dealing almost 1kg of the deadly drug ice while he was out on parole because the amount of time he spent in jail for taking part in the vile sexual assaults contributed to his offending, his lawyer has argued.

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A Skaf gang rapist wants a softer sentence after he was caught dealing almost 1kg of deadly ice while he was out on parole because he has already spent so much time in jail for vile sexual assaults.

The request for “special circumstances” was made at the Parramatta District Court sentence hearing for Mohamed Ghanem who as a 17-year-old acted as an “enthusiastic lieutenant” to the abhorrent gang’s ringleader Bilal Skaf in 2000.

After spending 14 years behind bars for the rape of two women in a Greenacre park, Ghanem was released in December 2015.

But less than two years later he was caught supplying nearly 1kg of the deadly drug ice — which was 80 per cent pure and worth $120,000 — to a man in the Bankstown Motel 10 on the Hume Highway on November 2017.

His parole was due to expire in 12 months.

Mohamed Ghanem is calling for a lighter sentence because he has already spent so much time in jail for sexual assaults.

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When police caught up with Ghanem’s alleged buyer — Queensland businessman Hussein Sarhan — he tried to flee but collided with two unmarked police cars which pulled over to stop him in Dundas.

Ghanem, 35, and Sarhan, 51, sat beside each other in the dock on Monday after pleading guilty to large commercial supply of ice.

A third man, Kamal ElJamal, 29, who was best friends in high school with Ghanem’s younger brother, is also facing the possibility of life behind bars after also admitting to the same charge.

The court heard that Ghanem acted as a “facilitator” for the deal, ElJamal drove the drugs in his family’s perfume business vehicle to the motel where the deal was carried out and Sarhan received the drugs.

Ghanem’s lawyer Avni Djemal said that his client should be considered for “special circumstances” because he had already spent so much time in jail and needed extra assistance adjusting to life on the outside.

“There’s a nuance here with this particular matter that some leniency would be beneficial overall because he just needs the extra help,” he said.

Ghanem who as a 17-year-old acted as an “enthusiastic lieutenant” to the abhorrent gang’s ringleader Bilal Skaf in 2000.

He tendered a report which said there was a connection between the Ghanem’s offending and his lengthy stint in jail.

“The report goes so far as to say there is a nexus between this offending and the circumstances of his institutionalisation that has occurred,” he said.

“What I’m going to be asking for your honour in light of all these things … is he should be entitled to some leniency. It’s a long time ago and a very different offence.”

Mr Djemal said his client was “paying for” his first offences in many ways and had struggled to find work before eventually being employed as a concreter.

But Crown Prosecutor Mitchell Paish said his record gave him “no leniency” and the fact he was on parole at the time was of significance.

Mohamed Ghanem acted as an “enthusiastic lieutenant” to the abhorrent gang’s ringleader Bilal Skaf (pictured) in 2000.

Convicted rapist Bilal Skaf.

“Yes he spent a long period of time in jail because quite frankly it warranted a long period of time in jail,” he said.

“He had a job … He reconnected with people he met in prison and then he negotiated this transaction. Without him would the transaction have taken place?”

A large number of family members and supporters for the three men sat in court for the sentence hearing, many of whom cried.

Judge Donna Woodburne will hand down her sentence on July 19.