EXCLUSIVE: 'I was trying to rape her but she broke free': Cabinet maker, 26, confesses to attacking a Jetstar flight attendant at a Melbourne Airport toilet because he has 'an urge to touch women'
- Greyson Murphy pleaded guilty to assault with attempt to commit sexual assault
- Murphy, 26, approached a Jetstar staffer in a toilet at Melbourne Airport
- He told police he had 'every intention of stripping the woman and raping her'
- Murphy once fled fled Bali after a similar attack on a woman, the court was told
- Court heard he also 'touched' a woman at a prison while awaiting trial
- Murphy was sentenced to three years jail and faces deportation once out
A New Zealander who attempted to rape an air hostess at one of Australia's busiest airports had previously escaped Bali after a similar attack.
Greyson Murphy, 26, from Christchurch, had been waiting to board a plane back to his homeland at Melbourne Airport when his urges took control.
He would later tell police that he had every intention of stripping the Jetstar hostess off and raping her.
Greyson Murphy, 26, of Christchurch, is likely to be deported back to his homeland after attacking a woman in the toilets at Melbourne Airport
A Jetstar employee was set upon by Murphy as she took a toilet break in the early hours of the morning at Melbourne Airport (stock image)
'I grabbed a girl and I was trying to rape her but she broke free,' he told Australian Federal Police on his arrest.
The woman had been working at the customer service desk at 5.15am last April when she made a trip to the toilets.
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Murphy had not long been released from a mental facility in Perth after making a rapid retreat from the resort island of Bali where he had attacked another woman.
Another airport worker had noticed Murphy watching the toilets as she went in.
She then noticed Murphy was in a cubicle and appeared to be standing so that his shoes could be seen under the door.
His victim was about to wash her hands when Murphy pounced.
'C'mon baby' he repeated as he tried to pull the terrified woman into the cubicle.
When the other woman who had been in the toilets came to the woman's aid, Murphy told her that he knew her and continued his attack.
She eventually broke free and Murphy fled.
He later told a friend what had happened.
'I was in the girl's toilet and I grabbed a girl and another girl grabbed her off me,' he said.
Murphy pleaded guilty in the County Court of Victoria to one charge of assault with attempt to commit sexual assault.
He faced up to 15 years in prison.
Greyson Murphy, 26, of Christchurch, pleaded guilty to attempting to rape a worker at Melbourne Airport
Melbourne Airport's Jetstar terminal where Greyson Murphy attacked a worker in the toilets
Judge John Carmody said Murphy chose his victim because she was attractive.
'So you wanted to have sex with her. You said, you defined rape to the police as having sex with someone without them wanting it,' he said.
`You acknowledged that she was probably scared, did not know what was going on and was threatened.'
The attack had devastated the young woman, who remained scared and unable to go about her work, socialise and participate in her fitness competitions.
`She has lost her sport, her confidence in a social setting and trusting people generally,' Judge Carmody said.
Murphy had only been in Australia for three years when he committed the sickening attack.
Dermot Dann, QC, argued his client should get a discount because of his mental illness. he is pictured leaving the Supreme Court of Appeal in Melbourne
The court heard he was lucky not to be rotting in a Bali prison.
'You are fortunate that your family members acted so promptly to rescue you and evacuate you from Bali,' Judge Carmody said.
A psychiatrist said Murphy had tried to 'gas' himself at Bali Airport after hearing voices.
While on remand, Murphy attacked a female prison worker and was put into lockdown.
He told the doctor he had an 'urge to touch women and let go...Just touch' with an anxiety that 'something bad would happen' if he did not do it.
Murphy's barrister Dermot Dann, QC, argued his client should get a discount because of his mental illness.
Judge Carmody accepted Murphy suffered from an underlying mental disorder.
He convicted and sentenced Murphy to three years in jail, with a non-parole period of two years.
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