Robert George Goeldner, 74, pleads guilty to rape
An award-winning lions club volunteer and Scouts leader has been exposed for raping a woman during a grey nomad social networking trip.
Bendigo
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An award-winning Lions Club volunteer and loving grandfather has been exposed for a vile rape that left his victim bruised and bloody.
Robert George Goeldner, 74, pleaded guilty at Bendigo County Court on Tuesday to rape, sexual assault and common law assault.
Goeldner and the victim were involved in a caravanning social network for grey nomads to “catch up with old friends” and “establish new friendships”.
“I was supposed to be safe,” the victim said in a statement to the court.
“I felt helpless … I was scared for my life.”
The victim said she was left “emotionally stripped” and could no longer travel alone like she used to for years before she was raped, but she was still “a proud woman”.
“I will not be destroyed, I just want justice,” she said.
While at a Cohuna caravan park in 2021, Goeldner suggested beginning a relationship with the woman.
She refused.
Goeldner then raped her “in a rough manner” by a campfire one night before dragging her unconscious body towards her caravan and stripping her naked.
The victim was unconcscious at the time.
She told the court she remembered waking up intermittently while being assaulted to find Goeldner laying naked on top of her.
She tried to fight him off by biting him and struggling, but he held her down and choked her.
The victim suspected she had been drugged by Goeldner, the court heard, however there was no evidence to prove those allegations.
When the woman woke up the next morning, she was naked, injured and lying outside her motorhome.
Goeldner made full admissions to police about the rape, but tried to downplay the severity, implying that the victim had come onto him, the court heard.
Originally from Newcastle, Goeldner, who has no fixed address and lives the lifestyle of a grey nomad travelling all over Australia, was supported in court by his family who had travelled down from NSW.
His son gave a tearful character reference, describing Goeldner as a “loving” grandfather of seven.
The court heard the former Newcastle man had been a stand-up member of the community where his son said Goeldner was remembered as a “selfless” and “compassionate” man who was “always helping” in the community.
He served as a Scouts leader and ran the school's band the Marching Koalas, which played all over the country and even overseas.
He was also a Lions Club for many years where he had won awards for community service.
Goeldner’s barrister told the court the do-gooder-turned-rapist had at one time cooked for fireys fighting fires on the North Coast of NSW, sizzling snags in “16 hour shifts”.
Judge Rosemary Carlin said Goeldner would be going to prison, the question was for how long.
Judge Carlin remanded Goeldner in custody until sentencing on October 31.
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