Jonah Somasundaram jailed for ‘terrifying’ North Lambton home invasion and rape
A Newcastle man who was drunk and broke into a home before viciously raping a woman at knifepoint in a brazen daylight attack has been sentenced. Read what happened in court.
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The words of a woman who endured a heinous rape attack in her own home in broad daylight have been read out in court, describing how the shocking attack has interrupted her life, fearing it would happen again.
“The incidence made me more wary of men. I’m very scared of people breaking into my house,” a victim support person read.
The 20-year-old victim was in her bedroom in a her share-house at North Lambton on July 29 last year when she was confronted by a drunk Jonah Somasundaram who yelled “give me all your shit”.
The now 22-year-old broke in, grabbed a steak knife from the kitchen and robbed her, taking a mobile phone.
It’s then he ordered her to strip naked before he repeatedly sexually assaulted her.
Somasundaram appeared via video link from Kempsey jail at Newcastle District Court on Friday as he was jailed for at least 10 years, the court hearing the gruesome details of the “terrifying” ordeal which lasted for about half an hour.
During the course of the attack, there was a struggle with the knife when the woman grabbed it from the bedside table when Somasundaram put it down.
The victim’s hand was cut, and she yelled “get off me you filthy animal”.
The court heard the woman yelled for help and banged her head against the wall to try and alert housemates during the attack and was pushed onto her bed and told to “spread your legs”.
After failed attempts at having sexual intercourse with the woman, shockingly he then forced his penis into her mouth several times, causing her to vomit, as he yelled “say you’re my bitch”.
When Somasundaram finally left, the court heard he threatened her to stay where she was on the floor and put a blanket on her.
The victim only got up off her bedroom floor after hearing her phone’s bluetooth disconnection tone, suggesting he had left, before raising the attack with a housemate downstairs.
The horrific crime prompted a massive police operation to hunt down the attacker before Somasundaram was arrested the following day in a shipping container he shared with his dad.
He pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated sexual assault — threatening to inflict actual bodily harm on the victim with a weapon, and one count of robbery armed with an offensive weapon.
Two other attempted aggravated sexual assault charges were also taken into account.
On Friday, Somasundaram gave evidence saying he felt of “ashamed” of the attack and didn’t know what was going through his mind at the time.
“I wish it never happened,” he said.
“I can’t understand why I done it, it’s not something I would normally do, breaking into someone’s house.”
The court heard Somasundaram had consumed “two sick packs of beer” before the offence, after having an argument with his dad.
He also confirmed at first he thought the victim was male and that’s why he grabbed the knife.
“What was your intention when you went into the house,” Crown Prosecutor Andrew Lynch asked, to which Somasundaram replied, “trying to find money”.
“Why did it become sexual,” Mr Lynch probed, “I don’t have a reason I done that,” the 22-year-old replied.
Mr Lynch told the court it was a “prolonged period of sexual offending” by Somasundaram and was all about him obtaining sexual gratification.
“It would have been a nightmare, terrifying, humiliating, series of acts,” he said.
Somasundaram’s barrister Ben Bickford said his client’s remorse was somewhat understated and his shame was real, although had difficulty in conveying it because he was “emotionally blunted”.
In sentencing Somasundaram, Judge Megan Latham said it was a terrifying ordeal by a complete stranger, labelling it “callous, cruel and violent”.
He was jailed for 14 years with a non-parole period of 10 years, meaning he’ll be first eligible for release in July 2031.
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