Victim tells of ‘atrocious’ support following rapist Luke Benjamin Gill’s Barwon Prison release

The woman who survived one of Geelong’s most heinous crimes has spoken out for the first time after the release of her violent rapist.

The woman, who survived a heinous attack near Market Square (pictured) in 2006, has been left “angry” at a lack of support following the release of rapist Luke Benjamin Gill.

The woman who survived one of Geelong’s most horrific rapes has spoken out for the first time after the release of her attacker, slamming the support offered to her as “atrocious” as he walked from prison.

Emma, not her real name, has called for an overhaul on how victims of violent crime are treated upon the release of offenders such as her vile rapist, Luke Benjamin Gill. Gill has served his 17-year prison term for brutalising her in a fire exit in 2006.

The Geelong Advertiser can confirm he was officially released from Barwon Prison on November 8.

Emma, now 39, said she felt “very angry” at the lack of detail around his impending liberation and the rights afforded to criminals by the justice system in Victoria.

She said she had to live with the scars of his sickening attack daily after she was left for dead in a darkened alley near Market Square.

Geelong CBD rapist Luke Benjamin Gill captured on CCTV on the morning of the brutal crime in December, 2006.

“My sentence hasn’t ended I guess, and I’m still having to suffer the consequences, whatever that may look like day-to-day,” she said.

“That is what is making me the most angry.

“I have no right to know in what location in the world he will be living.

“Not that I would ever want to see him, but for protection of myself.

“In the beginning there is a lot of support for victims, but when there are heinous crimes when people are jailed for 17 years or longer, then it feels like we are just an afterthought on the other end.”

This publication understands Gill is temporarily residing in Geelong.

Emma, who doesn’t live in the area, said the justice system was rigid and designed to “very much protect the perpetrator”.

“I am lucky, I am pretty head strong and have a full support crew around me. It is fairly triggering at the moment but I’m not falling to pieces,” she said.

Forensic police near the scene of the rape in 2006. The victim wants to see more done to offer support to victims of crime upon the release of violent offenders.

“I’m just very angry. The whole victims of crime thing is atrocious, the way victims of crime are treated.

“There has been no support offered to me, other than just being notified of when he was going to be released.

“There needs to be a huge shift on how we support people around this time.”

She was notified of Gill’s release date via email.

“It said my right to receive information has now ended, and that was kind of it,” she said.

She also spoke of the constant stress of notifications of his parole efforts from the Adult Parole Board over the last four years.

“It was a constant challenge,” she said.

“I would be working myself up and get a date, but then be told ‘oh no, he’s staying’.

“It was always a relief to learn he was staying in prison.”

Gill, now 44, was a father-of-three and living in Corio when he was arrested in December, 2006 for the brutal rape that shocked the city.

Emma had simply been enjoying a night out in the CBD when she was dragged down Little Malop St.

A CCTV still released as part of the investigation in 2006.

Her attacker showed little remorse for the shocking 2am attack, evidenced by his elaborate attempts to conceal his crime.

“He went to such lengths to change his appearance, which was quite unnerving,” she said.

He shaved his head, burnt off his fingerprints and got a tattoo in an effort to throw sex crime detectives off his trail during the investigation, after CCTV images of him emerged.

Emma said Geelong was a “no-go zone” for her following the nightmare ordeal, and bravely empathised with members of the community concerned Gill was back walking among them.

“I would feel exactly the same way,” she said.

“It is comforting to know everyone was as shaken as me and my family at that time.

“There is a protection on his identity, and I’m angry about that.

“For that reason, I would never come back to Geelong.”

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Originally published as Victim tells of ‘atrocious’ support following rapist Luke Benjamin Gill’s Barwon Prison release