Malaysian pilot convicted in Australia for sexual assault 21 years ago

PETALING JAYA: A Malaysian pilot has been found guilty of burglary and raping a woman at knifepoint in Australia, more than 20 years ago.
The long arm of the law caught up with Alfred Gerard Eravelly, 50, (pix) after police in Perth identified him based on DNA evidence.
He was arrested when he flew back to Sydney from Malaysia in February last year.
According to reports by Australian media, Eravelly, a father of two, was convicted by the District Court of Western Australia on Tuesday following a six-day trial.
The jury took more than four hours to deliberate before convicting Eravelly of burglary, unlawful wounding, unlawful detention and five counts of sexual penetration without consent.
Pending sentencing on June 22, the magistrate allowed bail which was set at A$100,000 (RM331,000).
According to the facts of the case, Eravelly, who wore a stocking over his head, had broken into his victim's residence in Scarborough in the early hours of March 9, 1996 by cutting the fly screen on her bathroom window.
He then tied the victim up and repeatedly raped her at knifepoint. DNA samples obtained from the woman's bedding and breast, matched Eravelly in 2015 following forensic technology advancement.
The prosecution earlier informed the court that Eravelly, who was an aviation student at the time of the incident, had lived less than 2km away from the then-39-year-old victim.
Following his arrest, Eravelly told the police he had dated the victim and tied her up as part of erotic, consensual sex.
The trial also revealed that Eravelly had fantasised about breaking into a home and raping a woman, and that he was a "peeping Tom" who had watched the woman through her bedroom window.
During the trial, Eravelly's defence lawyer claimed his client had a brief consensual sexual relationship with the woman after meeting her in a bar.
He claimed the relationship had turned sour after the woman refused his demand for money and made a false police report after he blackmailed her by threatening to tell her partner about their affair.
Meanwhile, the prosecution said Eravelly had initially denied raping the victim to the police in a recorded interview, but later confessed that he had consensual sex with the woman.
The victim, now 59, denied Eravelly's claim of an affair with her and said she had never met Eravelly.
She testified that she felt the blade of a knife against her neck and was told to "do as I say and I won't hurt you" before he raped her on the bed.
During bail application, prosecutors argued that Eravelly should remain in jail, because of the flight risk that he posed.
His lawyer argued that despite his occupation, Eravelly did not have ready access to a plane but was able to outlay a significant surety to assure his future court attendance.