Possum Galore: Jake Versteeg jailed after attack on burlesque performer
The son of a top Australian burlesque star has been jailed after he raped a woman. When Jake Versteeg’s victim told him to stop, he just laughed at her.
Canberra Star
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Jake Elias Versteeg, the rapist son of one of Australia’s top burlesque performers, waved goodbye to his family with a look of terror on his face as he was escorted to the ACT Supreme Court cells on Friday to begin his jail sentence.
Versteeg, 30, had previously pleaded guilty to rape and indecency charges stemming from his attack on a woman in 2018.
Justice John Burns on Friday sentenced Versteeg to two years and seven months jail, to be suspended after six months served.
Versteeg admitted to the charges as his trial was about to begin in June, but forced his victim to give evidence when he disputed her version of the ordeal and tried to downplay his sex attack as “momentary”.
Versteeg’s family, including his burlesque performer mother Gianna “Possum Galore” Bagnara, sat in the public gallery of the court on Friday while Justice John Burns said Versteeg had continually downplayed his crimes.
The court heard Versteeg had told a psychologist that his offending “was not as big a deal as it was made out”.
Versteeg also told his psychologist of the allegations that he felt “heartbroken that someone would say something like that about me”.
Justice Burns said Versteeg’s ADHD and cannabis use meant he had poor general impulse control, but that he still had a high level of moral culpability for forcibly removing the woman’s pants and raping her.
She had told him: “Just don’t do it”, but instead of stopping, Versteeg laughed.
Versteeg’s attack only stopped when the woman bit him on the shoulder.
Justice Burns had previously rejected Versteeg’s attempt to minimise his crimes, saying it was inconsistent with a Facebook message he wrote to the victim, in which he said “I’ve never gone that wild where I’ve lost my self control like that”.
The woman would later write back to Versteeg saying: “The truth doesn’t stay hidden for long, Jake”.
Versteeg’s barrister, Margaret Jones, has previously argued her client was a “love sick puppy”.
Versteeg will be released in March 2021.