Warrnambool man pleads guilty to raping woman while she slept

A Warrnambool man who is facing years in prison after raping a woman while she slept in his bed told her he didn’t know why he did it.

A Warrnambool man is facing prison after he admitted raping a woman while she slept.

A young Warrnambool man is facing years behind bars after he admitted raping a woman while she slept.

Tristan Quarrell, 22, pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting the woman while she slept in his bed at his grandmother’s home in Grassmere, near Warrnambool, earlier this year.

During a pre-sentence hearing at the County Court in Warrnambool on Wednesday, a prosecution summary was read out stating the woman did not know she had been raped until the following morning and only had a “dream-like” recollection of the assault.

On March 6, Quarrell and the woman spent the afternoon together walking along the beach and talking about her relationship with her boyfriend who she was on a “break” with.

He invited her back to his grandmother’s home where he lived where they continued talking until about midnight before the woman went to sleep in Quarrell’s bed.

Quarrell later joined and began cuddling the woman before he pulled down her pants and raped her before falling asleep.

The following morning, Quarrell had already left for work when the woman realised she had been raped.

She later attended Warrnambool hospital and police station to report the assault.

In a pretext call with the woman, Quarrell admitted raping her for about “five seconds” after he got aroused while cuddling.

He apologised and told her he didn’t know why he did it and offered to pay for therapy.

In a victim impact statement read to the court, the woman said she had been living in a “nightmare” since the assault and it had led to breakdown of her relationship with her boyfriend.

“When I’m on my own, I’m constantly looking around to check if he is there,” the statement read.

“I don’t like being on my own (but) I don’t like having people around me either.”

Quarrell’s grandmother told the court her grandson had an “incredibly difficult” childhood but believed he had tried to do the “right thing” by the victim.

The prosecution accepted Quarrell’s rehabilitation prospects were “very good” and he had no prior criminal history.

Judge Claire Quin will sentence Quarrell next week.