A man has been charged following a series of alleged sexual assaults across Melbourne’s inner suburbs over the past 18 months.
The 58-year-old Airport West man is accused of picking up three female victims on three separate occasions in January 2021, June 2022 and September 2022 from outside licensed venues and an entertainment precinct in Melbourne CBD and Richmond.
It is alleged the man posed as a rideshare driver to get the victims to enter his vehicle before he drove away and sexually assaulted them in the vehicle.
Detectives from Box Hill Sexual Offences and Child Abuse Investigation Taskforce (SOCIT) executed a search warrant at an Airport West address on Monday 19 September 2022 arresting the man.
He has since been charged with rape, attempted rape; and multiple counts of sexual assault and sexual act directed towards another.
The man has been remanded to face Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on 16 December 2022.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential report online at www.crimestoppersvic.com.auExternal Link.
Quotes attributable to Detective Acting Senior Sergeant Mark Franklin – Box Hill SOCIT:
“If you have been a victim of a sexual assault, our specially trained SOCIT detectives are here to support you with sensitivity and anonymity.
“We want to remind the community that we take all types of sexual offending extremely seriously and will follow up all reports.”
