An Australian man who brutally attacked two backpackers on a remote beach has been jailed for at least 17 years.\u00a0 Roman Heinze, 61, bound and indecently assaulted a Brazilian woman before mowing down her German friend with his car in South Australia last year.\u00a0 He was sentenced on Wednesday for attacking the women, both 24, and an assault on another backpacker in 2014.<\/p>\n
A judge told Heinze his actions were “utterly depraved” and he had harmed Australia’s reputation as a safe place.<\/p>\n
“Yours is not the conduct of a civilised human being but an enraged and somewhat primitive man lacking any moral compass whatsoever,” Justice Trish Kelly said in the Supreme Court of South Australia.<\/p>\n
“In committing these crimes you have undermined yet again the reputation of this country as a safe, friendly and attractive destination for young backpackers from all over the world.”<\/p>\n
Heinze had answered an advert the German woman posted on Gumtree, a classifieds website, seeking a ride from Adelaide to Melbourne.\u00a0 He drove the pair to the beach at Salt Creek, where they set up tents, and during the afternoon the German woman fell asleep in Heinze’s 4×4 vehicle.\u00a0 The former chef then took the Brazilian woman to a section of beach on the promise of seeing kangaroos.\u00a0 Instead, he tied up her wrists and ankles with rope, cut off her bikini with a knife, punched and sexually assaulted her.\u00a0 When the German woman woke to her companion’s screams, she tried to intervene but Heinze struck her repeatedly with a hammer.\u00a0 As she tried to run, the Adelaide man climbed into his vehicle and ran her down with his bull bar.\u00a0 The ordeal ended when nearby fishermen heard the Brazilian woman’s screams.<\/p>\n
Heinze was found guilty in March of six charges over the Salt Creek incident, including indecent assault, aggravated kidnapping and endangering life.\u00a0 He was also convicted of indecently attacking another backpacker in an Adelaide home two years earlier.\u00a0 Justice Kelly sentenced Heinze to a maximum sentence of 22 years and four months in prison. He will be eligible for parole after 17 years.\u00a0 The judge told Heinze he committed the attacks “solely in pursuit of the gratification of your own perverted sexual fantasies and desires”.\u00a0\u00a0 She warned other women to be cautious when using the internet to organise travel.<\/p>\n
Heinze has appealed against the verdict.<\/p>\n
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Source bbc.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"