Taxi driver Hayas Kardo found guilty of sexually assaulting woman asleep in spa at Adelaide Aquatic Centre

A taxi driver has been found guilty of a horrific and brazen crime against a younger woman sleeping in a spa in Adelaide.

Taxi driver Hayas Kardo has been found guilty of raping a woman in a spa at the Adelaide Aquatic Centre. Picture: AAP Image/Kathryn Bermingham

A taxi driver has been found guilty of sexually assaulting a woman while she was asleep in the spa at the Adelaide Aquatic Centre.

Hayas Kardo, 62, targeted the 27-year-old woman at the North Adelaide facility in September 2018.

Following a trial by judge alone, Kardo was on Monday found guilty of one count of rape and one count of indecent assault.

He was taken into custody immediately after the verdicts were handed down.

During his trial, the District Court heard he used the cover of bubbles in the spa while committing the crime.

The victim had visited the pool to relax after a busy week, fell asleep and later woke to find her leg was over Kardo’s lap and she was being raped.

She got out of the spa, and was distraught and stuttering as she told a lifeguard what had happened.

CCTV footage captured the pair sitting with an “unnatural physical closeness” to each other in the spa, but it was difficult to make out what was happening under the bubbles.

“At times, Your Honour may see what the prosecution contends is that dark fabric of (the victim’s) swimming shorts billowing up in an area out in front of the accused and to his left,” prosecutor Carmen Matteo told the court.

“When the jets are active, they create a significant visual obstruction on the surface of the water.

“The accused’s movements are subtle and are surreptitious.”

Kardo, who left the pool in his taxi, was arrested at his home later that night.

He admitted he was in the spa at the time of the incident, but denied the allegations.

Hayas Kardo admitted he was in the spa at the time of the incident but denied the allegations. Picture: Twitter @10NewsFirstAdl

In her published reasons, Judge Liesl Chapman said the victim was a “calm, thoughtful and matter of fact” witness.

“I did not gain the impression that she was prone to exaggeration of her evidence,” she said.

She said Kardo had moved “unnecessarily and inappropriately” close to the woman as she slept, and the footage revealed he had an eight-minute window to commit the offences.

The judge also found there was “strong support” for the conclusion that DNA found under Kardo’s fingernails belonged to the victim, and she rejected the possibility of secondary transfer as a possible explanation.

“I am satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the accused is guilty of these offences,” she said.

“His behaviour after the complainant left the spa fortifies that degree of satisfaction.”

Judge Chapman ordered Kardo reappear before the court in February.