Ballarat rapist Sugesh Sapkota jailed, may be deported

A man who raped a woman who asked for his help with a driving test has been sentenced in Ballarat court.

A Ballarat man will spend at least two years in prison and may be deported after drunkenly raping a woman.

Sugesh Sapkota, now 24, was living in Ballarat with his wife on a post-study working visa in 2021.

It was arranged that he and his wife attend the home of a woman also living in Ballarat.

Sapkota and his wife were to help the woman, his victim, prepare for a driving test.

After rendering that help on the afternoon of August 31, 2021, all three went back to Sapkota’s Brown Hill home about 6pm.

The group ate dinner and drank alcohol throughout the evening, becoming intoxicated.

After smoking a cigarette, the victim felt dizzy and vomited, and eventually went to sleep clothed in the offender’s and his wife’s bed.

Sapkota and his wife went to the spare bedroom and had sex.

Between 1am and 3am on September 1, the victim felt someone behind her in the bed.

She thought at first it was the offender’s wife, as she had been in the room previously to check on the victim and had mentioned she “likes girls” when she was drunk.

It was in fact Sapkota, who touched one of the victim’s breasts over her clothing, then underneath her bra, and grabbed her buttocks beneath her underwear.

The court heard the victim’s “head was spinning” and she “felt like she couldn’t do anything”.

Sapkota digitally penetrated the victim from behind, then rolled her onto her back, and pushed her pants off.

As Sapkota positioned himself on top of the victim, she touched his face and realised it was him, not his wife.

Sapkota inserted his penis into the victim, who told him to “go away”.

She does not remember how long the penetration lasted.

The victim took a taxi home at 4.26am, messaging the offender’s wife that she had been raped and had to leave.

The group later met in a carpark at Lake Wendouree and spoke about what occurred.

The victim was medically examined and had no injuries.

Police arrested Sapkota on September 2.

He said he did not remember the incident due to his drunkenness, and suggested he may have thought the victim was his wife given she was in their bed.

In a character reference, Sapkota’s wife said the offending was “entirely out of character”.

“He has never forced me to do anything or tried to have sex with me without my consent,” she said.

“He’s truly ashamed of himself … I have full faith that he’s not a danger to the community.”

She said her husband had suggested they divorce for the sake of her future, and that he was “not himself nowadays”.

“He is always lost, stressed, and anxious,” she said.

The victim said in a statement that as a result of the incident she struggled to enjoy the things she used to, and had “great challenges” with her mental health.

But she said “we all make mistakes in life, learn lessons, and move forward”.

“I hope all three of us … will find our peace and happiness,” she said.

A friend provided a statement attesting that Sapkota was “a man of honour – humble, honest, and decent”.

“Of all the years I’ve spent with him, this is not his true character,” the friend said.

Judge Karapanagiotidis said the effect of Sapkota’s actions on his victim were “pervasive”.

She accepted he had expressed some remorse, but said he would “benefit from developing further insights”.

Sapkota pleaded guilty to rape and was sentenced in Ballarat County Court on Friday.

He received three years and six months’ imprisonment, with a non-parole period of two years.

Sapkota will be liable to deportation, having arrived in Australia in 2017 with intentions to apply for permanent residence.