Refugee Abthar Al-Athmany charged with rape of girl at Parramatta’s Meriton Suites
The Iraqi refugee accused of forcing a 15-year-old girl to undress before repeatedly raping her under cold water has been released on bail.
Abthar Bassam Talib Al-Athmany, 19, and an unnamed 17-year-old boy allegedly abused the teenage girl for hours at the Parramatta Meriton Suites on August 27, 2023.
Many details in prosecution documents obtained by the Daily telegram have been edited for their explicit and graphic nature.
The girl was allegedly threatened with a kitchen knife and told to undress before being forced to perform sex acts while being filmed, police fact sheets show.
Police will allege she was blindfolded with her own T-shirt and repeatedly raped by the two men in the shower room while under cold running water.
Abthar Bassam Talib Al-Athmany, 19, and an unnamed 17-year-old boy allegedly abused the teenage girl for hours at the Parramatta Meriton Suites (pictured) on August 27, 2023
The court heard the two men allegedly used the teenager to advertise prostitution and drugs by posting two photos on her personal Instagram page.
She thought she was picking up a friend's phone from the hotel when she was allegedly lured there by a male employee.
The men are accused of holding a second woman captive and forcing her to take off her clothes when she arrived in the room to check on the girl.
It is alleged that the two women escaped from the hotel at 3.30am the next morning and went straight to the home of a relative, who contacted police.
Al-Athmany was arrested later that day at his home in Hinchinbrook and charged with aggravated sexual assault of the 15-year-old.
No charges have been filed regarding the second woman.
Al-Athmany spent three months behind bars before being granted bail by a judge in the NSW Supreme Court late last year.
In a letter to the court in support of his bail application, his father, Bassam Alothmani, said he had been bullied at several schools in Sydney.
He said his family had settled in Sydney's western suburbs after fleeing conflicts in Gaza and Syria, where many of their relatives had been killed.
Mr Alothmani said his son suffered from depression and anxiety but was a “kind-hearted and family-oriented man”.
The girl was reportedly threatened with a kitchen knife and told to undress before being forced to perform sex acts on film (pictured is Meriton lobby)
Judge Richard Button granted strict conditional bail with a surety of $30,000, despite prosecutors arguing he posed a significant risk to the community.
He warned Al-Athmany that if he breached his bail “by one millimeter,” he would go straight back to prison and stay there.
“My thoughts have been very much in flux as to whether or not, in light of the seriousness of what is being alleged, he should spend many, many months in custody with bail denied until this is all resolved,” he said. Judge Button.
'I have come to the conclusion that while there are undoubtedly risks here, these can hardly be mitigated by the accuracy of what his lawyer has proposed, to the point of making it acceptable.'
Al-Athmany is only allowed to leave his home once a day, accompanied by his father or brother, to report to the police or for legal or medical appointments.
As part of his strict bail conditions, the teenager is banned from using the internet and must continue to receive treatment for his mental health.