A Tuross Head man who raped an 83-year-old woman and repeatedly slammed her head against a wall during a drug and booze-fuelled attack will spend more than 10 years behind bars.
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Tony Piscitelli, 24, was sentenced to a total of 16-and-a-half years’ jail for the vicious attack on the elderly woman in April last year.
Wollongong District Court Judge David Frearson this week described Mr Piscitelli’s actions as a “savage and callous attack” that was almost in the “worst case” category of aggravated sexual assault.
Mr Piscitelli pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated sexual intercourse occasioning actual bodily harm, one charge of special aggravation break, enter and committing a serious indictable offence and a further sexual assault charge.
He admitted he broke into the woman’s Tuross Head unit in April last year and, upon discovering her alone in the bathroom, put a hand over her mouth and said: “Don’t make noise, I’m not going to hurt you”.
However, Mr Piscitelli then pulled the woman into the bedroom and raped her twice, despite her repeated pleas for him to stop.
During the ordeal he told her he had a knife, and at another time, asked her if she was enjoying it.
When he was finished, Mr Piscitelli made the woman sit against a brick wall before he slammed her head against it four to five times.
The court heard the woman, who suffered from asthma, was also having trouble breathing and asked Mr Piscitelli to get her puffer when he finally stopped.
He left the room but did not return, and soon after the woman alerted neighbours, who contacted police.
Mr Piscitelli told the court during sentencing submissions last Friday that he consumed seven or eight beers, smoked 15 cones of cannabis and had two sleeping tablets before the incident and did not remember much of it.
He initially denied knowledge of the crime when spoken to by police, however conceded his involvement when DNA swabs pinned him as the rapist.
Judge Frearson said Mr Piscitelli’s record showed numerous convictions for dishonesty and assault.
He also acknowledged Mr Piscitelli began using illicit drugs at 10 and was himself sexually assaulted at age 12.
Judge Frearson acknowledged that Mr Piscitelli accepted responsibility for his crimes and was remorseful and ashamed, but said it didn’t excuse his actions.
“The victim impact statement was extremely distressing ... the victim was frail and vulnerable,” Judge Frearson said.
Piscitelli’s non-parole period of 11 and a half years includes one year of time already served. He will be eligible for parole in October, 2021.
