Joel Russo jailed for 20 years over Merri Creek Trail rape
Six horrific words an evil rapist told the victim after he violently raped her in a creek in a crime that shocked Australia – as he has been jailed for 20 years
- Joel Russo kidnapped a woman in Melbourne in 2019
- The 29-year-old tried to drown the woman in a creek
- He said “sorry” after raping her for over an hour
A violent serial rapist who dragged a woman into a stream and tried to drown her before brutally sexually assaulting her for hours has been sentenced to more than two decades in prison.
Joel Russo, 29, grabbed the woman from behind and abducted her while jogging along the Merri Creek Trail in Melbourne’s outback in 2019.
Joel Russo (pictured), 29, grabbed the woman from behind and abducted her while she was jogging down the Merri Creek Trail in Melbourne’s outback in 2019
He dragged her down an embankment to the creek and she clawed at the ground trying to get away.
The woman screamed as Russo pulled her into the creek water and pushed her head under twice.
He said he would let her live if they had sex and raped her repeatedly in the creek and then some nearby bushes.
The court heard Russo raped the woman for over an hour and told the victim she “liked what he did.”
He also apologized to the victim and said, “I ruined your life, didn’t I?”
“This was an appalling sexual assault,” Judge Liz Gaynor told the County Court on Tuesday.
“It was predatory, persistent, very violent, terrifying and long-lasting.”
Russo pleaded guilty to two counts of rape, sexual touching without consent and reckless endangerment that could cause serious injury.
Judge Gaynor sentenced him to 20 years and four months in prison.
He dragged her down an embankment to the creek and she clawed at the ground trying to get away.
He must serve at least 17 years before he can apply for parole.
She said there was a high risk that Russo could reoffend, as he had been released from prison four months before committing the December 2019 rape after serving time for another sexual assault.
In that case, he was sentenced to five years in prison for raping a 16-year-old girl near a public toilet block, threatening to kill her and pushing her to the ground to prevent her from screaming.
“It is clear that you are a most dangerous offender,” Judge Gaynor said.
“The objective threat you pose to women generally cannot be underestimated.”
He has already served three and a half years of his sentence and is registered as a sex offender for life.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
National Sexual Abuse and Recovery Support Service 1800 211 028
Pictured is part of the jogging track at Merri Creek