Byron Bay man to spend birthday in jail after allegedly raping a woman in The Star Sydney
>
Byron Bay man spends his 21st birthday in prison after allegedly choking and raping a woman on The Star
- Joel Nathan Fitzpatrick, 20, charged with violent suffocation and rape of a woman
- He allegedly attacked the woman in a room at Sydney’s Star Grand on Saturday
- A witness told the court on Tuesday that they heard the woman say “stop, stop.”
- He didn’t get bail until his next trial date, so he’ll spend his 21st birthday in jail
<!–
<!–
<!–<!–
<!–
<!–
<!–
A guest at a five-star Sydney hotel heard a woman in another room say ‘stop stop stop’ several times during an hour of violent assault and rape, a court has heard.
Joel Nathan Fitzpatrick Burtt, 20, of Byron Bay, is accused of assaulting the woman Saturday night in a room of The Star Grand in the city’s casino.
Police allege that he strangled her, damaged her face and sexually assaulted her between 8 and 9 p.m.
A witness heard a woman say “stop stop stop” several times, then “bang” and then silence, a magistrate was told on Tuesday.
The witness then recalled hearing another woman say, “Look what you did to her face,” according to a summary of the charges by police.
Joel Nathan Fitzpatrick Burtt is accused of asphyxiating and raping a woman in a room of the Star Grand in Sydney casino on Saturday night (above)
Blood was found on the sheets, while a call to room service for an ice bucket matched an alleged attempt to stop the woman’s swelling, the court was told.
Fitzpatrick Burtt turned himself in to police on Monday and was charged with three offences, including aggravated assault.
He was denied bail by magistrate Robert Williams on Tuesday over concerns that he posed a risk to the woman, would not appear for future court hearings and would commit serious felonies if he were granted bail.
The court was told that he was serving a nine-month intensive correction for driving under the influence of alcohol, which required him to abstain from alcohol.
He would have drunk alcohol on Saturday before the alleged rape.
The court heard Tuesday that a witness could hear the woman say to Fitzpatrick Burtt ‘stop, stop’ during the alleged attack (pictured, a room in The Star)
Mr Williams noted that the results of tests from the hospital and hotel room were not yet available and said the police case appeared fairly strong that a “serious assault, including suffocation” by Fitzpatrick Burtt had taken place over a period of time.
“There appears to have been an opportunity to stop and some promises made that the victim could call to help, which appear to have been broken by the accused,” the magistrate said.
Pledges of bail and possible house arrest could not allay concerns about bail, he said.
Fitzpatrick Burtt appeared via video link from custody, looked up at the ceiling, then appeared to burst into tears as he placed his head in his handcuffed hands.
He was held in police custody until another court entry on January 12, forcing him to celebrate his 21st birthday in custody.