Fruit picker accused of raping woman he found passed out drunk in Shepparton

A Vanuatu man who claims he was just trying to help a woman when he found her passed out drunk on a nature strip in northern Victoria has been accused of abducting and raping her.

The woman told the nurses at Goulburn Valley Health she had been ‘raped’. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

An overseas fruit picker stands accused of abducting and raping a woman he found passed out drunk on a nature strip in northern Victoria.

Dexley Bulememe, 28, from Vanuatu, fled Victoria after the alleged rape, remaining on the run for weeks before coming forward to police with claims he loaded the intoxicated woman into his car only to help her.

However DNA from the victim’s rape test revealed sperm with a billion times likelihood of being from the same person whose DNA was located in the silver Camry driven by Mr Bulememe that night in Shepparton.

Police documents allege the 20-year-old intellectually disabled woman victim had been drinking with friends, who dropped her unconscious body on the nature strip outside her home just before 11pm on August 10.

Alone and vulnerable, the woman was spotted by Mr Bulememe, who allegedly grabbed her, put her in his car, drove to a remote rural location and raped her.

Police allege Mr Bulemere’s car battery died and he abandoned the alleged victim in the car, where she “screamed hysterically”.

Police and paramedics came to her aid just after 1am and were required to sedate her due to her state of extreme distress.

Dexley Bulememe remains locked up in Melbourne Assessment Prison. Picture: Ian Currie

The woman told nurses at Goulburn Valley Health “I was raped” and her underwear was gone.

Police quickly zeroed in on prime suspect Mr Bulememe who they allege fled the state, travelling to Griffith in NSW, and turning off his phone.

“Detectives were required to utilise specialist resources over the course of almost two months to locate the accused,” a police summary read.

On October 9, the accused came forward to police, admitting he had put the woman into his car but claimed it was out of concern for her welfare and did not rape her.

“The accused’s intentions were to convey the complainant home once he ascertained her address,” a summary of Mr Bulememe’s claims read.

Police did not accept his version of events and charged him with abduction and rape.

Locked up at Melbourne Assessment Prison, Mr Bulemere hung his head for the duration of his bail application in the Shepparton Magistrates’ Court on Monday.

Police opposed his release, declaring him a danger to women and that he eluded authorities for a significant period after the alleged attack.

“The accused left the complainant crying and screaming on the side of the road in a remote location after raping her, showing no remorse upon the completion of the act,” police documents state.

“The accused resides temporarily between farm houses where women of culturally diverse communities are known to live. Police believe that the accused cannot be trusted residing within close proximity of women, given his willingness to commit opportunistic and serious offending against women.”

Magistrate Simon Zebrowski refused bail, stating Mr Buelemere was “an unacceptable risk to the community”.

A sperm sample is yet to be obtained from the accused, who is on a bridging visa, and will return to court on January 8.