An Indian-origin man in Australia has been convicted of drugging and raping five Korean women and filming the acts on a hidden camera, the Sydney Morning Herald reported. Balesh Dhankhar, a prominent member of the Indian diaspora in Australia with political ties, faced trial over 39 charges including 13 counts of rape committed between January and October He has been found guilty of all charges by a jury at the District Court in Sydney on Monday.
He will face court again in May and will be sentenced later in the year. He resigned from OFBJP Australia in July , the organisation said in a statement, shortly after the allegations against him came to light.
The jury heard Dhankhar had a 'very specific modus operandi' to ensnare the women - with a fake job posting for Korean translators. Prosecutors said Dhankhar spiked glasses of wine and other drinks with tablets of the sleeping drug Stilnox or infamous date-rape drug Rohypnol. Dhankhar filmed the rapes on a camera hidden in his bedside alarm clock, or on his mobile phone, which were both recovered by police.
Arrest and trial. Dhankhar was arrested on October 21, , after his fifth victim woke up while he was assaulting her, and sent messages to a friend while hiding in the bathroom. Dhankhar pleaded not guilty, claiming all five women consented to sex, and to being filmed, and faced a lengthy trial.
All five of his accusers were subjected to gruelling cross-examination in court. The recordings of the sexual assaults were also played for the jury.
