Gang rapist Mohammed Skaf facing parole hearing tomorrow

Mohammed Skaf has spent the best part of two decades in jail for a series of horrifying gang rapes. Tomorrow he could learn whether he is released on parole.

Gang rapist Mohammed Skaf could learn tomorrow if he will be freed from prison after two decades behind bars for one of the most horrific sex crimes in Sydney’s history.

Skaf, now 37, has been in jail for the majority of his adult life after being imprisoned in 2001 as an 18-year-old for the rapes of at least six schoolgirls alongside 14 other men and his brother Bilal Skaf.

He has been refused parole three times since becoming eligible in 2018 and his latest bid for freedom has been six months in the making.

Skaf, pictured as a teenager after his arrest.

That delay, in part, is due to prison authorities’ decision on whether to reduce Skaf’s security classification.

If it is reduced, he would be allowed on the prison external release program for things like TAFE training.

He has previously been denied parole based on the advice of the Serious Offenders Review Council, which said he should not be released because he had not gone through the program.

Police surveillance images showing Skaf, left, attempting to lure a group of girls off a beach moments before his arrest.

Correctional Services NSW had suspended the program due to the coronavirus pandemic when Skaf last asked for parole in November 2020 and recent lockdowns have again seen more restrictions in place at the state’s jails.

The State Parole Authority, chaired by former District Court Judge David Frearson SC, is expected to recieve reports on Skaf on Friday before it decides whether or not to grant parole.

The decision hangs on whether he shows “exceptional circumstances” after the SORC has previously advised against releasing him.

The now 37-year-old has been denied parole three times since becoming eligible in 2018.

As well as reviewing his prison records the SPA also has to consider the views of Skaf’s victims, now grown women who were raped by the group during a wave of sexual violence in 2000.

He is currently serving a 22-year jail sentence for his role in the crimes after it was reduced from 31 years on appeal.

His brother Bilal Skaf was handed a 31-year prison sentence and is eligible for parole in 2033.

If Mohammed Skaf’s parole is denied he will still be released from jail on January 1, 2024 when his prison sentence expires.

Originally published as Gang rapist Mohammed Skaf facing parole hearing tomorrow