Ringwood Magistrates Court: Sex offender Serge Ranwala rents out bedroom of home he lives in on Airbnb

A man who was found guilty of drugging and sexually assaulting a disabled teenager is renting out a room in his Ringwood home on Airbnb.

The bedroom Serge Ranwala is renting out on Airbnb despite his lifetime listing on the sex offenders register.

A man who drugged and sexually assaulted a disabled teenager is renting out his Ringwood home on Airbnb.

The Bedford Rd rental includes a private bedroom and access to shared spaces with the registered sex offender.

Serge Ranwala plied a teenager with ice before sexually abusing him multiple times in May of 2014.

He was found guilty in 2015 of two counts of committing an indecent act with a person having a cognitive impairment while a worker at a DHS facility and nine counts of sexual penetration.

He was released in June 2020 and remains on the sex offenders’ registry for life.

Serge Ranwala fronted Ringwood Magistrates Court on January 10.

On Wednesday, Ranwala fronted the Ringwood Magistrate’s Court for failing to comply with his reporting obligations of the sex offenders registry.

He pleaded guilty to charges of possession of crystal meth, failing to update his employment status and car details to the sex offenders registry.

Magistrate Peter Reardon fined Ranwala $2000 for these breaches.

The two ziplock bags of crystal meth were found in the same home he uses for his Airbnb rental after police executed 4am search warrants at the home on February 24, 2023.

Ranwala at the time claimed the drugs were not his, saying a friend had left them at his home.

The court heard Ranwala also failed to disclose his self employment status as a Airbnb host to the sex offenders registry.

Ranwala — who uses the username Serge on Airbnb — offers two guest rooms in his three bedroom home and boasts a 4.5 star rating.

The bedroom listed by sex offender Serge Ranwala on Airbnb.

“Your room features a spacious double bed, dedicated industrial design bath via your own private deck,” Ranwala’s listing reads.

“The host lives at this house, yet he is a busy professional. He is known to be helpful and kind or he is away busy with his job working long hours.”

The court heard Serge is currently employed as yard cleaner, contradictory to his claim of working as a BioMed engineer for Melbourne Water written on his Airbnb profile.

“We believe in karma or (let’s say in righteous respectful responsible life),” the profile also read.

The kitchen and laundry are a shared by Ranwala and his guest.

The listing had a mixed bag of reviews.

One guest wrote Serge told them he personally vetted each guest to his home because he had a “drug dealer and another time a drug user” stay in the home.

“While Serge was nice and friendly, the smell, clutter, and dirtiness of the place is just too much to take,” another guest wrote.

“Serge is a great host and always there when you need him, very nice and wants to share all he knows about the area,” one review read.

“Serge is a great host, very friendly and a great conversationalist. The room was very comfortable, quiet and very well equipped,” another read.

Airbnb advertised they have checked Ranwala’s identity, phone number and email address on their website.