Vile pizza shop gang rapist who attacked a teenage girl in the back of his takeaway after she was plied with drugs is refused bail after begging to be let out for a ‘medical procedure’
- Ricardo Audish, 41, found guilty of three counts of aggravated sexual assault
- Court heard he took part in gang rape of a then-18-year-old who was fed a bong
- Lawyer argued for him to be bailed due to a heart condition needing procedure
- Judge said severity of conviction gave incentive not to appear for sentencing
A Sydney pizza shop worker who raped a drugged teenager has lost his bid for bail and will remain behind bars.
It took a jury two hours on Thursday to find Ricardo Audish guilty of three charges of aggravated sexual assault in company in a southern Sydney eatery in October 2016.
Each offence carries a maximum penalty in jail of 20 years.
The NSW District Court heard at the age of 38 Audish took part in the gang rape of a then-18-year-old after she was fed a bong with cannabis which was suspected to have been spiked.
Ricardo Audish, 41, was on Thursday found guilty of three counts of aggravated sexual assault in company following the attack in October 2016
On Friday defence barrister Eugene Wasilenia argued for Audish to be released on bail due to his serious heart condition which requires a medical procedure in April.
But crown prosecutor Kate Nightingale said the charges he was convicted of were serious enough to provide an incentive not to appear before the court if released.
Judge David Arnott said despite Audish complying with his bail conditions for four years following the assault, he agreed there was an unacceptable risk he may not appear for his sentence proceedings.
Judge Arnott noted evidence that Audish had approached his victim two months after she complained to police.
The married man originally denied working at the time of the assault and later said the pair did not have intercourse, but a co-worker’s statement and forensic DNA evidence of his semen ‘thwarted’ these stories, Ms Nightingale told the court.
Earlier in the evening, the woman had consented to sex with her boyfriend in a toilet cubicle, before he told her ‘all the other boys want to have sex with you now’, to which she replied ‘hell no’.
At the age of 38, Audish (pictured) took part in the gang rape of a then-18-year-old after she was fed a bong with cannabis which was suspected to have been spiked
Audish’s defence barrister argued for him to be released on bail due to his serious heart condition but Judge David Arnott said there was an unacceptable risk he may not appear for his sentencing proceedings
The victim was 18 when she was drugged before being led by Audish to the back of the pizza eatery where he worked. He then sexually assaulted her against a stack of chairs
The bong made her feel dizzy and lose her memory but she recalls leaning over a stack of chairs while Audish had non-consensual sexual intercourse with her.
After a stranger found her disorientated by the side of the road paramedics were called.
In the safety of hospital, she detailed what had happened.
‘They all took turns in me,’ she said.
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