Alfred Burrarrwanga faces Supreme Court for rape of woman

A former Norforce member raped an unconscious woman in a Darwin garden bed, treating her with ‘utter contempt’. He followed the assault with a stone-hearted act.

A former Norforce member who raped an unconscious woman in Darwin before using her bank card to buy himself takeaway and smokes has been given a lengthy prison term.

Alfred Burrarrwanga was sentenced in the Supreme Court last week after pleading guilty to sexual intercourse without consent and being reckless to the lack of consent, as well as charges of stealing and obtaining a range of goods by deception.

Burrarrwanga, the court heard, is a former member of the North-West Mobile Force, or Norforce, a Top End surveillance, reconnaissance and military intelligence gathering squad.

The court heard about 12am on July 28, 2021, Burrarrwanga saw a woman unconscious on the ground outside the Kalidonis Taverna on Woods St before he approached her, grabbed her arm and tried to wake her.

Alfred Burrarrwanga, a former Norforce member was sentenced in the Supreme Court.

When the woman, who was heavily intoxicated, did not wake he rolled her onto her back, “scooped her up” and carried her to a nearby garden bed and out of view of passing vehicles and pedestrians.

Burrarrwanga removed her dress and underwear, tearing her clothes in the process, before raping her.

The woman woke during the assault, causing Burrarrwanga to stop and move away, before asking him where he was from and his age.

She passed out again and Burrarrwanga stole her handbag containing her wallet, bank card and mobile phone.

Burrarrwanga walked to Uncle Sam’s Take Away Food on Mitchell St where he bought takeaway and a bottle of Coca-Cola before buying a pair of headphones, a portable phone charger, prepaid phone credit, cigarettes and tobacco papers from the United service station on the corner of Daly St and Smith St.

In his sentencing, Justice John Burns said Burrarrwanga’s victim had “suffered significantly through developing debilitating psychological conditions, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, a major stress disorder and an avoidance disorder”.

“The victim was unconscious at the time that you commenced engaging in sexual intercourse with her, so I am satisfied that you knew that she was not consenting,” Justice Burns said.

“I accept that this offence was not prolonged, but it was degrading in that you stripped the victim virtually naked in a garden bed in or adjacent to a public place.”

After raping his victim Burrarrwanga walked to a takeaway shop on Mitchell Street to but food with her bank card. Picture: Che Chorley

Justice Burns also said women in the community should feel “safe to go anywhere at any time and in any state of intoxication”.

“Your conduct was callous and you treated the victim and her right to safety with utter contempt,” he said.

Burrarrwanga was sentenced to seven years imprisonment, with a non-parole period of four years and five months.

His sentence was backdated to August 3 last year.