Gang rapist Mohammed Skaf’s secret prison case notes revealed

As gang rapist Mohammed Skaf applies for release on parole, secret prison files reveal he shows no remorse for his role in the attack that shocked Sydney.

Gang rapist Mohammed Skaf has likened his attack on a Sydney schoolgirl to “a one-night stand during the day’’ and maintains he “treated her like a girlfriend’’.

As he applies for release on parole, secret prison files can be revealed by The Daily Telegraph showing Skaf, now 37, has no remorse for his role in the attack that shocked Sydney in the lead-up to the 2000 Olympics.

Mohammed Skaf was originally jailed for 31 years but his sentence was reduced on appeal to 22 years with a non-parole period of 18 years.

Mohammed’s brother Bilal was named the “ringleader” behind the pack rapes.

Over the years, Skaf has been quizzed by experts who have tried to understand why he committed his crimes and whether his attitudes towards women had changed.

He has refused to admit his guilt, saying only that he would take responsibility because Islam taught him not to have sex before marriage.

The files also reveal Skaf adopted a depraved approach to women after his childhood sweetheart cheated on him before calling it quits.

He has also been caught with articles on terrorism and associated literature, fought with the infamous Murphy brothers who killed Anita Cobby and said he would “go to his grave” claiming his innocence.

Skaf became a household name at age 17, acting as the “bait” luring schoolgirls to be pack-raped — a strategy led by his brother and gang “ringleader” Bilal.

JAIL FIGHT

Being one of the most despised figures in Australia, Skaf has spent most his time in protective custody.

In December 2005, he said he had a fight in the yard with the Murphy brothers, Michael, Gary and Les, who claimed the Skaf boys were hogging the jail phone, alternating to call their family.

In 2014, Skaf attacked an inmate with a paint spatula in his cell. Prison officers tell how Skaf put on an intimidating demeanour but was terrified of being attacked in jail.

He told the officers he needed to portray a “tough exterior’’. On most days he played cards, exercised in the yard and prayed.

He cut inmates’ hair, and had been a wing sweeper, cleaning up urine-soaked rooms.

Bilal Skaf with mother Baria during a visit to Goulburn Supermax.

In secret, he ran businesses with other inmates in the wing and was “manipulative”, officers said.

“(He) has a tendency to present himself well (in an) attempt to groom others in order to serve his own needs,” a report said.

When he was caught selling tobacco to an inmate, Skaf was moved to Goulburn Supermax, where he was reunited with his equally reviled sibling Bilal.

“Both Skaf brothers are very loud, and by them yelling out to each other, it is causing friction with other inmates,” a report said.

At Junee prison in 2016, during a random cell search, Skaf was found with newspaper articles on terrorism, “associated literature” and Muslim symbols hidden inside his legal paperwork.

He said the items were religious art material.

NO REMORSE

He told prison officers how he lured his victims, claiming he told them to “get off the train for guys’ fun’’.

In denial that his actions were rape, he told an officer he would “go to my grave’’ denying it.

In December 2019, he “attempted to breach boundaries” with a female staffer who he was banned from approaching, asking her if they could set up a meeting.

Bilal Skaf.

When he was at Junee prison, he told an officer he was still hung up on his ex — a relationship that ended from a “misunderstanding”.

He sent letters, but she ignored them. He was so upset he lost his appetite and was struggling to sleep.

RISK REMAINS

Skaf, who was eligible for release on parole in 2018, is still deemed a “significant” risk to the community.

He said he plans to live with his mother at Greenacre and work at his cousin’s car yard when he is released.

But he has so far refused to be moved out of protection into minimum security where, he can access day leave, fearing he will be attacked.

Bilal Skaf before he was jailed.

In 2018, Crown Prosecutor Margaret Cunneen SC who put the rapist behind bars, told News Corp Australia it was time he was released.

“He’s done his time. He was 17 and not overly gifted in the intellect department, without being offensive to him, and he served 17 years, he served half his life for something in which he was rather easily led.”

Originally published as Gang rapist Mohammed Skaf’s secret prison case notes revealed