A Sydney court has sentenced a 45-year-old electrician of Indian origin, Amol Vijay Dhumal, to five years in prison for sexually assaulting a 75-year-old woman, according to The Sydney Morning Herald. The incident occurred during a visit to install solar panels in April 2024. Dhumal was sentenced last week after the court summoned his wife, Gauri.
Who is Amol Vijay Dhumal, sentenced to 5 years for raping elderly woman
According to The Sydney Morning Herald, Dhumal was one of three subcontractors sent to the woman’s home on April 22, 2024, to install solar panels. After completing the work, he asked the woman who else lived in the house. When she said she lived alone, he attempted to get close to her, reportedly saying she reminded him of his mother. The woman immediately asked him to leave.
Two days later, Dhumal returned to fix a reported power issue. During this visit, he allegedly discussed his personal life before sexually assaulting the woman in her bedroom, causing her injuries.
The court rejected Dhumal’s version of events. After the attack, he had claimed that the woman made up the allegation because he did not answer a phone call from her. During sentencing, Dhumal’s wife, Gauri, appeared in court to show her support. She said she accepted the verdict but did not want to discuss the case. “My husband is loving and respectful,” she told the court. Despite this, the judge sentenced Dhumal to five years in prison, citing the seriousness of the crime and the breach of trust involved.
A jury found Dhumal guilty of sexual intercourse without consent. According to The Sydney Morning Herald, the guilty verdict was delivered in September, while the sentence was announced last week.
‘I am in prison in my own home’
In her statement to the court, seen by The Sydney Morning Herald, the victim said her life had completely changed after the assault. “I am only existing, not living,” she said. “I am in prison in my own home.” The 75-year-old said she had stepped back from all the volunteer work she once enjoyed and now lives in constant fear.
“This home is supposed to give me security, peace and good memories, but now it is a horrific and tragic place to live,” she wrote. “I bolt all the windows and doors. I am always alarmed that someone knows I live alone and will come in again and harm me.” She described Dhumal as a “deeply evil person” and said his actions had caused a forever trauma in her life.
The Sydney case comes just days after a tribunal ruled that a 35-year-old Indian-origin man who sexually assaulted 17 women at a Melbourne nightclub in 2023 would not be deported from Australia.
David Arokiaraj Maria Anthony Rayan was involved in multiple incidents at a nightclub in Prahran, where the assaults took place on September 23, October 14 and October 21, 2023. He later pleaded guilty to 17 counts of sexual assault and one count of attempted sexual assault.
Rayan’s visa was cancelled in September following the charges, but he appealed the decision. The Administrative Review Tribunal ruled in his favour, allowing him to remain in Australia, citing the potential impact his deportation would have on his three-year-old daughter. However, an intervention order remains in place that prevents him from having any contact with the child.
