Serial rapist William Craig Forde makes appeal for freedom amid victim’s fears of fresh attacks

William Craig Forde was sentenced to a rare indefinite jail term after he bound, gagged and raped a woman at knifepoint in Ballarat – but he could soon be a free man.

Rape survivor Jessica says she is worried ‘not just for myself, but for my family and my friends and all women’. Picture: supplied

A woman repeatedly raped in a horrific ordeal lasting nearly 30 hours says she feels powerless as her rapist makes a bid for freedom.

William Craig Forde, 66, was sentenced to a rare indefinite jail term after he bound, gagged and repeatedly raped Jessica, then aged 23, at knifepoint in Ballarat before driving her more than 800km across Victoria in 2006.

Forde, whose 17-year nominal sentence expired this year, appeared in the County Court on Monday for a review to determine if he should be ­released.

Only two Victorians are serving indefinite sentences – they are only eligible for release when their nominal period has expired and if a judge finds they no longer pose a serious danger to society.

William Craig Forde’s 17-year nominal sentence expired this year.

Speaking outside the court after the hearing, Jessica said she felt Forde’s appeal had already been determined in his favour after the indefinite sentence of another rapist, Anthony John Carolan, was overturned in 2015.

“The decision’s out of my hands and it doesn’t matter what I do or what I say, I can’t stop him being released onto a supervision order,” she said.

“Then I just worry, not just for myself, but for my family and my friends and all women … is anyone ever going to be able to walk safely while he’s around?”

Jessica said she felt sidelined as she had “no say” in Forde’s legal proceedings.

William Craig Forde was sentenced to an indefinite jail term in 2007. Picture: supplied

Forde had just been released from jail for three other rapes when he held a knife to Jessica’s throat as she closed the front door of the Ballarat shop where she worked, on February 6, 2006.

Three forensic experts who assessed Forde gave evidence at Monday’s hearing, all of whom found he posed a moderate to high risk of reoffending if released.

Psychologist James Ogloff said Forde showed little remorse, empathy or understanding of the gravity of his conduct during the attack on Jessica.

“For me that was particularly concerning,” he said.

“It showed his almost single minded focus on his own needs at the expense of his victim.

“He’s certainly not a psychopath but he does have reduced capacity for … how others feel.”

The court heard Forde, who has been out of jail for less than two of the past 35 years, only began taking part in sexual offender rehabilitation programs this year.

If his appeal is successful, he will be placed on a five-year reintegration scheme that would provide him a range of sex offender programs and potentially be moved to a minimum security prison.

Depending on whether the Parole Board authorises his release, Forde could then be freed on a supervised order with restrictions such as monitoring devices or a curfew.

In his sentencing remarks in 2007, County Court Judge Thomas Wodak said Forde subjected Jessica to a “prolonged ordeal of pain, degradation, humiliation and despair”.

Forde, who appeared via video link from prison, will return to court for a decision on August 30.