Samantha Renee Rawlings and Jarrod William Hayes plead guilty to armed robbery, burglary

As a fake sex worker went to change into a racy costume, her boyfriend waited at a window ready to rob the unsuspecting man inside. But things quickly got out of hand.

Jarrod William Hayes and Samantha Renee Rawlings appeared before Maryborough District Court this week.

Two lovers who robbed a man during a bizarre sex meet-up where the girlfriend dressed in a costume while her boyfriend broke into the ‘client’s home, have been sentenced.

Samantha Renee Rawlings, 20, pleaded guilty in Maryborough District Court to burglary in the night and armed robbery in company.

Her boyfriend, Jarrod William Hayes also pleaded guilty to armed robbery in company along with burglary in the night by break, attempting to escape lawful custody and two counts of obstructing police.

The court heard the two were together on November 19, 2023, when they planned to rob a man they both knew.

The man offered Rawlings money in exchange for sex, the court was told, and the couple went to his house.

Rawlings went inside and she was given $100 in cash and she then changed into a costume in one room while the man undressed in the bedroom.

She then entered the bedroom and Hayes positioned himself outside the bedroom window.

Rawlings grabbed the man’s keys and went to leave the bedroom, but the man grabbed her and threw her onto the bed, the court was told.

At that point Hayes smashed the window and entered the bedroom and punched the man in the face.

Jarrod William Hayes and Samantha Renee Rawlings appeared before Maryborough District Court this week.

Hayes then went to the kitchen and armed himself with a knife.

He “brandished” it at the man and tried to steal his scooter, but the man wrestled him, during which Hayes stole his wallet.

Rawlings and Hayes then left through the bedroom window.

The two were arrested on November 22, 2023, with Rawlings found in possession of some of the man’s identification cards.

Rawlings declined to be interviewed by the police, but Hayes lied to officers and said the man had raped Rawlings and he had entered the home and armed himself to defend her.

On November 24, 2023, Hayes tried to escape from custody when he was taken to hospital, making it 10 metres before he was restrained, the court heard.

He then obstructed the two officers who had restrained him, the court was told.

The court heard it was “one of the more hopeless examples” of attempting to escape custody that one could imagine.

Both Rawlings and Hayes were on probation at the time of committing the offences, the court heard.

Rawlings had grown up in a prejudicial environment and had been exposed to domestic violence, the court heard.

She had moved in with her sister when she was 16 and had finished Year 12 and had worked in retail, working her way to assistant manager.

But Rawlings had an older sister who was a heroin user and died from an overdose in 2021.

The sister had introduced Rawlings to drugs and she had been using and was homeless at the time of committing the offences.

The offending came at a time in her life when she was “hopeless and absolutely desperate”, the court was told and had been sleeping with Hayes in a sleeping bag in a public toilet before her arrest.

Hayes had also completed Year 12 and had worked, but at 19 he was hit by a car and was prescribed opiates and that led him to becoming addicted to heroin.

His family was supportive of him, the court was told.

Jarrod William Hayes and Samantha Renee Rawlings appeared before Maryborough District Court this week.

It was the first time either Rawlings or Hayes had spent time in custody, the court heard.

Judge Vicki Loury said the offence of armed robbery was a serious one and carried a maximum sentence of armed robbery.

“The circumstances of this armed robbery are a little unusual in that Mr Hayes you did not take the knife to the residence in order to commit the robbery but rather armed yourself while you were inside the residence,” she said.

Judge Loury said perhaps the most serious aspect of the robbery was that the two had planned it using “some sort of subterfuge”.

“But you Miss Rawlings did not attend armed, you did not arm yourself and you did not use any violence at all,” she said.

Hayes had only armed himself when inside the house, Judge Loury said, and those features did make it less serious than comparable cases that she had been referred to.

“Thankfully the complainant suffered no injuries and there’s no victim impact statement before to me to suggest he has any long-term enduring impacts.”

Hayes was given a sentence of two years and nine months imprisonment for the armed robbery and for the attempted escape from lawful custody he was sentenced to three months in prison to be served cumulatively.

He had spent 162 days in presentence custody, which was declared as time served.

Judge Loury ordered that he released on parole on May 21, 2024.

Rawlings with given a head sentence of two and a half years in prison and was given immediate release on parole.

The 162 days she had spent in presentence custody was declared as time served.

Maryborough former junior player to debut for Brisbane Lions

90+ photos: Every arrival at Hervey Bay State High School formal

Originally published as Samantha Renee Rawlings and Jarrod William Hayes plead guilty to armed robbery, burglary