Baker Dawas fronts court on charges of intimidating a witness

The case of a former decorated firefighter accused of raping a woman and intimidating a witness by putting bullets in her letterbox has taken a new twist.

Former firefighter and rape accused Baker Dawas has admitted intimidating a witness

A former firefighter who was the public face of FRV ordered to stand trial on a charge of raping a woman has admitted intimidating a witness.

Baker Dawas, a former Craigieburn firefighter involved in promoting fire safety awareness in schools, fronted the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Thursday for a committal mention.

He was initially charged with rape, three charges of intimidating a witness, two of harassing a witness and another two of attempting to pervert the course of justice.

Dawas allegedly tried to intimidate the woman and a witness by putting bullets in their letterboxes in November 2024.

A 12-day trial on the rape charge will start in the County Court on November 27 while the other charges were being dealt with in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court prior to Thursday’s proceedings.

The prosecution withdrew all the charges except two of intimidation and Baker, who appeared via a prison link, pleaded guilty and will appear in the County Court on September 29 for a plea hearing.

Former volunteer firefighter Baker Dawas is accused of intimidating a woman who had accused him of rape by putting bullets in her letterbox weeks.

Mr Dawas worked as a firefighter in Craigieburn, at Aviation Rescue Fire Fighting Service and also served as the regional adviser at the Victorian Multicultural Commission.

He has been denied bail, twice by the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court and once by the Supreme Court, in April.

The alleged rape happened in 2015 but police weren’t contacted until July 2021 after Mr Dawas allegedly sent a message to the woman apologising for his actions.

In August 2021, the complainant made a pretext call to Mr Dawas in which he allegedly said he knew he had “f----d up” and wanted her to know he was sorry.“What I did to you was rape and I’m guilty of it. I’m ashamed of it and I take full responsibility,” he allegedly said.

In November 2024, a woman whose daughter was listed as a witness in Mr Dawas’ trial allegedly found an envelope in her letterbox three live rounds of308 calibre ammunition, and a letter.

The handwritten letter contained the words “‘WE WILL ALWAYS FIND YOU, WE’RE ALWAYS WATCHING, THINK ABOUT YOUR FAMILY’.”