Joshua Cahill, Justin Hamilton sentenced for Riverina town rape

A woman has bravely faced two men found guilty of raping her in a truck during a pig hunting trip in a Riverina town and relayed how they “broke” her – and she is still picking up the pieces.

The Downing Centre courts. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Nikki Short

A woman who a jury found was raped by two men in a truck during a pig hunting trip in the Riverina has said “time does not heal all wounds” as she bravely faced the pair that assaulted her in court.

Joshua Cahill and Justin Hamilton were found guilty at a jury trial over their respective roles in the sexual assault, which occurred in October 2021.

The court heard both men had unprotected, penetrative sex with the highly intoxicated woman without her consent in the back of a truck in a deserted bush location during a pig hunting trip.

Hamilton, 36, was found guilty of two counts of aggravated sexual assault, and Cahill, 27, was found guilty of one count of aggravated sexual assault.

At Sydney District Court before Judge John Pickering, the victim bravely faced her attackers to deliver a victim impact statement.

Joshua Cahill at court.

The court heard the victim had suffered post-traumatic stress, sleeplessness, nightmares, hallucinations and suicidal thoughts in her distress after the assault.

“This crime has completely destroyed me,” the woman said in court.

“My anxiety got so extreme, I became extremely distressed and felt unsafe to go anywhere without (my dog), even to walk to my own mailbox.”

The woman also said her capacity to work was severely affected by the crime and she had relinquished her dream of being a homeowner in a town where five generations of her family had lived when she decided to leave the place where she was attacked.

“My self-worth, my confidence, everything I thought I knew about myself was gone, replaced with a shell of who I used to be,” the woman said through tears.

“I hate it when people say I’m strong, that they are proud of me, that the assault has made me stronger – quite the contrary.

“The trauma gave me trust issues, nightmares and flashbacks – it gave me PTSD, anxiety and depression, and it made me come close to ending my life.”

The woman said she continued to live with the horrific consequences of the assault.

“Time does not heal all wounds,” the woman said.

“They broke me as a person and I’m still trying to pick up the pieces.”

Justin Hamilton.

Hamilton’s mother told the court the Ashmont man had suffered childhood trauma after his father left the family unit and had an affair with his mother’s sister-in-law.

Cahill’s mother said her son, despite now being an accomplished sportsman and motor mechanic, had struggled significantly at school with literacy.

The Riverina man does not have a prior criminal record and the court heard he was remorseful after hearing the victim’s evidence at trial, accepting he had not gone as far as he could to ascertain whether she consented.

Counsel for Hamilton conceded his client had previously served a short period of incarceration for domestic violence, and there was no evidence of his client’s remorse to rely upon.

Judge Pickering said he was satisfied the victim had never intended to have sex with either man and neither man had reasonable grounds to believe she was consenting.

“Why someone would want to have sex with someone who is not participating, defies belief,” Judge Pickering said.

“It’s time for young men to make a little bit more of an effort – if you’re having sex, let alone in the back of a truck on a pig hunting trip with your friend in the front in a field in the middle of nowhere – to see if they want to, let alone if they are frozen.”

The Downing Centre courts. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Nikki Short

The judge reinforced that the woman was entitled to go on a pig hunting trip, to a remote location, intoxicated or not, and not be sexually assaulted by two men.

“I know the victim doesn’t like people to say she is courageous,” Judge Pickering said.

“I think it is courageous to stick to your guns, and the desire to achieve justice – maybe you should look differently at that comment, because a lot of women don’t have your courage to come forward, and a lot of men get off as women don’t have the confidence to come forward.”

Crown prosecutor John Sfinas told the court imprisonment was the only acceptable sentence to recognise the harm caused to the victim and to achieve both general and specific deterrence.

Hamilton was convicted and sentenced to three years and three months’ imprisonment, with a non-parole period of two years and three months.

With time served on remand, he will be eligible for release on May 20 2025.

Cahill was convicted and sentenced to three years’ imprisonment, with a non-parole period of one year and eight months.

He will be released automatically on parole on December 8 next year.