Mithun ‘Matt’ Shanmugan: UOW student jailed over rape of co-worker
A University of Wollongong student dubbed a ‘gentleman’ by his friends has been jailed for at least three years, after he raped his co-worker following a work Christmas party.
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A University of Wollongong student will spend at least three years in prison after he raped his friend and co-worker following a belated work Christmas party in January last year, despite his best friends claiming he is a “gentleman”.
Mithun “Matt” Shanmugan was jailed for five years with a non-parole period of three years by Judge Andrew Haesler in the NSW District Court at Wollongong on Thursday.
He was found guilty of two counts of rape, one count of attempted rape and two counts of unlawful sexual touching in a judge-alone trial last month.
Judge Haesler labelled Shanmugan’s offending as “invasive and degrading”, noting he breached the trust of his former friend and co-worker.
“His actions were not wanted and he knew that,” Judge Haesler said.
Two of his female friends, Jessica Ainsworth and Vanlea Matthews, took the stand on Thursday, saying Shanmugan was a “kind, loving and respectful man” and that the offending didn’t Match up with his “morals and ethics.”
“That’s not Matt. It doesn’t make sense. He’s not that type of person,” Ms Ainsworth said.
However, the court heard the victim felt the same way toward Shanmugan before he sexually assaulted her following a late Christmas party on January 6, 2019.
The pair had returned to the victim’s home with another female friend following the night of drinking and all went to bed together.
During the night, the court heard the victim’s friend went to the bathroom to vomit. The victim told the court during the trial that while her friend was in the bathroom she rolled over to find Shanmugan masturbating, before he rolled over and raped her.
“She (the victim) kept her eyes closed and pretended to be asleep,” Judge Haesler said during the sentence hearing.
“She could feel the tears run down her face.”
The woman confronted Shanmugan about the incident via text message the following day, with her attacker returning a series of apologetic messages.
“Omg omg no no … shit … f**k, what have I done?” he wrote.
“I’m so so so sorry … what I have done is very unethical, extremely rude and very inappropriate … I don’t know from where this behaviour came out and I’m deeply disappointed and disgusted with myself.”
Shanmugan was arrested on January 17 of that year after the victim reported the incident.
Despite the texts, Shanmugan denied the allegations during the trial.
On Thursday, the victim delivered a statement to the court, telling Judge Haesler she had been forced to move homes and jobs following the incident.
“The incident has profoundly impacted my ability to trust people,” she said.
“Before the assault I was confident and outgoing … I am now closed off and I don’t communicate with anyone from the workplace where it happened.”
Shanmugan’s defence team argued jail would be particularly onerous for him given he is an Indian national and would have no ability to see or talk to his family, as well as the fact he would likely face deportation upon his release.
Despite this, Judge Haesler imposed a three year non-parole period, noting Shanmugan’s dreams and life in Australia “had been ruined” by his conduct.
Shanmugan will be eligible for release to parole in September 2023.