Australian Teen Who Attempted To Rape Blind 93-Year-Old Woman Sentenced

A Perth, Australia teenager has been sentenced to seven years in prison on Thursday for rashly attempting to rape a blind 93-year-old woman and robbing her home

Elijah Jonathan Linton Gilla, 19, has been convicted of attempted aggravated sexual penetration without consent, aggravated indecent assault, and aggravated burglary, The West Australian reported.

The legally blind 93-year-old victim was reportedly alone in her North Beach home in June last year when the horrendous incident occurred. According to court documents, Gilla broke into the home through the back door, with intent to take advantage of the impaired pensioner.

The legally blind woman had thought at first that it was her son visiting her before realizing the heinous home invasion. The offender reportedly proceeded to scandalously assault the elderly victim before fleeing the scene with the old lady’s gold watch and opal ring, 7 News noted. Among the valuables stolen were pieces of jewelry the widow received as gifts from her departed husband.

Authorities managed to track down the then 18-year-old suspect to a lot near the Ocean View Motel, just a few hours after the assault. The remorseful Gilla admitted that he “went a bit crazy” and “didn’t mean to hurt that old lady.”

The elderly woman, who lived her remaining life in fear, sorrowfully died in March earlier this year.

“I now feel extremely isolated. I no longer have a sense of freedom. I feel like I’m in jail,” the victim said in a statement before her passing. “I was the queen of the castle, now I feel like a little old lady living in my house.”

Judge Timothy Sharp marked the victim impact statement as “heartbreaking.”

“From the victim impact statement, it’s very clear your offending had a profound impact on the last few months of her life,” Sharp said.

The judge said during the hearing that he took into consideration Gilla’s compunction that was expressed in a letter to the court, as well as his youth, his guilty plea, and his mental health issues in mulling the sentence.

Gilla will be entitled to parole after five years.

In an unrelated but similar story, also in Perth, global miner BHP Group made public on Wednesday that it had terminated a Western Australian employee after he was accused of rape, Reuters reported.

This was said to be the second case of alleged sexual assault perpetrated by a BHP worker.

Western Australian state police said they arraigned an unidentified 42-year-old man in August 2020 after he allegedly sexually assaulted a woman at a private residence in Perth, while employees were off the roster, in July last year. He is set to appear in court in July 2022.