An Afghan refugee rapist has walked out of court a free man after spending less than two years behind bars, despite a report warning his risk of reoffending was high.
Faridoon Khaksar, whose age is unknown but is believed to be 24 or 25, pleaded guilty to one count of sexual intercourse without consent in November last year, after spending more than two years denying raping his intoxicated victim after luring her out of the Coast Hotel in Coffs Harbour, NSW.
He spent 22 months in jail after being remanded in custody until being released on bail in August and moving to Sydney to work as a truck driver.
In the Coffs Harbour District Court on Friday Judge Michael McHugh said it was a “close run thing” whether he would sentence Khaksar to more jail, but ultimately told him he could return to Sydney and appear by video link for sentencing on Tuesday, The Coffs Harbour Advocate reported.
The court heard that a sentencing assessment rated Khaksar a high risk of reoffending, and a psychologist rated the risk as moderate to medium.
But Justice McHugh made a note of Khaksar’s upbringing – which included time spent in Afghanistan and Pakistan before his arrival in Australia in 2014 – saying “it would be surprising if he didn’t have a mental health legacy”.
The same court previously heard the Khaksar danced with the “very drunk” victim for some time before leading her from the hotel and driving her a short distance away to where the rape took place in 2022
She then returned to the pub and made a complaint straight away.
Header image: Faridoon Khaksar (Facebook).
