'I can still smell him in my sleep': Perth woman faces her rapist in court
A Perth woman who was raped in broad daylight by a stranger as she walked down the street has faced her attacker in court, telling him she still has nightmares about the moment she thought he was going to kill her.
Robin Clarke, 21, was 19 years old when he approached a 47-year-old woman from behind as she walked down Eighth Road in Armadale around 4.30pm on December 6, 2017.
He asked her for the time, pushed her to the ground, ripped off her clothes and sexually assaulted her on the pathway in front of onlookers.
Clarke ran away after a driver passing by pulled over to help as the woman screamed.
She suffered internal lacerations and a broken rib.
During Clarke's sentencing in the Perth District Court on Tuesday, the woman read aloud her victim impact statement, saying she had gone from a social person to being unable to cope, and suffering severe post-traumatic stress.
"The flashbacks and nightmares are extreme, I can still smell him in my sleep," she said.
"Socially, I can no longer handle going into strange places ... I can't handle when people walk behind me ... I also get very anxious.
"Emotionally, I've never felt so angry at anything or anyone in my entire life ... how dare he.
"I thought he was going to kill me. At times I felt so dirty that I wanted to have showers all the time."
During the emotional reading, the woman also thanked the witnesses who she believed had saved her life.
Judge Stephen Scott said Clarke's actions were brutal, degrading and must have been terrifying for the victim.
"The community needs to understand that [women] are entitled to be protected, to feel safe [in our society] ... without being preyed upon," he said.
"Those who commit offences such as these ... they will be properly punished to send a message to the community that the courts simply don't stand for this type of behaviour that is inflicted on women in our society."
In sentencing Clarke to four years and six months behind bars, Judge Scott took into account his plea of guilty, his young age, and that he had a mild intellectual disability.
The court heard Clarke had an abusive childhood, and was placed into foster care with his grandmother around the age of 10.
He started using cannabis at 13, and alcohol at 17.
Once he is released from jail, he will be supported by a Disability Services Commission grant.
"It is clear you have anger management issues which require assistance," Justice Scott said.
"[The victim] was attacked by you, without warning, in broad daylight, and must have been terrified.
"The impact on her ... has been significant, it's long lasting and likely to be the subject of substantial trauma for her.
"Her life has been permanently altered."
With time already served, Clarke will be eligible for parole in May 2020, after spending 2½ years behind bars.