Married laneway rapist Sayer Alenezi sentenced to 5 years in jail

A married father who lured a young woman to a dark Sydney laneway before raping her in a gutter has been sentenced to at least five years behind bars.

A married father who lured a young woman bar hopping to a dark Sydney laneway before horrifically raping her in a gutter has been sentenced to at least five years behind bars.

Sayer Alenezi, 40, told the intoxicated woman he would help her get home safely, before walking her to Turner Lane in Woolloomooloo, taking off her clothes, forcing his penis in her mouth, removing her tampon and raping her on the concrete, the court heard.

The Iraq refugee — who was on a bridging visa at the time — ran from the alley before he briefly returned to throw the woman’s wallet at her, which hit her shoulder, the court heard.

CCTV of Sayer Alenezi on the night of the rape.

This was not Alenezi’s first sexual offence on a stranger, he pleaded guilty to assault in an act of indecency after he rubbed the thigh of a woman on the train in May 2017.

The Yennora resident, who pleaded guilty to sexual intercourse without consent, held prayer beads and rested a Koran balanced on his head while chanting “Oh Lord” in Arabic before he was sentenced at the District Court on Friday.

Judge James Bennett told the court Alenezi “did not care” whether the 22-year-old woman consented when he saw her sitting on the floor about 2.30am outside The Pleasure Lounge on Oxford St, on the Saturday night of October 27, 2019.

The woman had been on a night out drinking with friends before she lost them and had no money to get home. She was on the phone calling different friends when Alenezi approached her, the court heard.

“I find the offender exploited the vulnerability of this young woman for sexual exploitation,” Mr Bennett told the court.

After the attack, the woman texted a group chat: “Literally just got raped, I’m not even kidding I just got raped in the back of an alley and I want to go home.”

The court heard Alenezi was stressed after a fight with his wife and got the bus to the city for a few drinks.

His victim in evidence told the court she was “so scared” she was “frozen” and he should be “punished”.

“I never felt so scared, ashamed and alone in my life,” she told the court, before revealing she turned to drugs and alcohol to numb the pain.

Judge Bennett rejected defence lawyer AJ Karim’s assertion his client was “opportunistic”, telling the court Alenezi was in fact “exploitative”.

He reduced the length of the sentence due to the harsh experiences Alenezi suffered in the Middle East before seeking asylum in Australia, including torture and witnessing family members killed.

Alenezi was sentenced to a non-parole period of five years, expiring on November 10, 2024, with the maximum sentence expiring on May 10, 2027.

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