A Greek Australian man, now 58, from Melbourne’s Mill Park was arrested on Friday morning following a decades-long investigation by the sexual crimes squad.
The man, who allegedly kidnapped and raped two teenage girls in St Kilda when he was in his twenties, has been granted bail after being charged. He was charged with four counts of rape, four counts of rape with aggravated circumstances, two counts of false imprisonment and two counts of aggravated indecent assault.
The crime according to police took place on 7 May 1987, and saw the two girls who were walking in Grey Street, St Kilda, approached by the man who is accused of pretending to be a police officer.
He allegedly told the girls, aged 15 and 16, that he worked at a brothel and threatened to kill them. The girls were then driven to locations in Elwood and Balaclava, where they were held against their will and sexually assaulted, police says. The man would have been aged in his mid-20s at the time of the alleged crimes.
The accused appeared in Melbourne Magistrates Court hours after being charged on Friday. One of his alleged victims that died in 2018, were concerned the accused would interfere with witnesses in the case.
His lawyer, Ms Bridget Coath, said he would be challenging the DNA evidence based on which he was charged citing probable delays because of the coronavirus crisis.
In the meantime, all of Victoria’s courts have slashed in-person appearances, pushed back hearings and have suspended new jury trials.
