A Perth dentist who spiked the drinks of several young women he met online before raping them will spend more than a decade behind bars.
Farzem Mehrabi, 34, who was found guilty of 24 charges in September, was sentenced in the Perth District Court on Tuesday to 15 years in prison with a non-parole period of 13 years.
His conviction followed a four-week trial in which the court heard evidence that he had committed more than 20 crimes against six women aged between 18 and 22 whom he met on dating apps in 2022.
Mehrabi strongly denied the allegations, despite being caught on CCTV poisoning one of his victim’s water glasses with MDMA and methamphetamine.
Seven women filed complaints about Mehrabi, who was found guilty of rape, indecent assault, strangulation, anesthesia and supplying a prohibited drug.
The court heard that Mehrabi had lied to the women about his age and living arrangements, telling them he was 24 years old instead of 31 and living with an older couple who were family friends, when in fact he was living with his parents .
Judge Troy Sweeney said the CCTV footage of Mehrabi adding a drink was ‘devastating’ and a clear example of how ‘brave’ he had become.
“As a handsome, well-educated, up-and-coming dentist and soon-to-be surgeon, you believed you were entitled to this way of life,” Judge Sweeney said in her ruling.
The 34-year-old dentist was sentenced to 15 years in prison with a non-parole period of 13 years
The woman who was caught on CCTV was the first to make allegations against the dentist.
As the pair drove home in his Jaguar, the woman panicked as the effects of the drugs began to take effect and jumped out of the car to seek help from nearby security guards.
Another woman recalled waking up in Mehrabi’s bed one morning with no memories of the night before, despite having had just four drinks, the court heard.
She found bruises, scratches and abrasions on her body and marks around her neck.
Others said they drank alcohol in Mehrabi’s backyard and started feeling sick when hair tests showed some had unknowingly consumed MDMA.
“It shows a total lack of respect and a complete willingness to manipulate and control another,” Judge Sweeney said.
‘Each of the victims who ended up in your home, drunk and under the influence of drugs, whether consumed voluntarily or unknowingly, were therefore made vulnerable because they were in your home in a state where their judgment and their physical independence were completely compromised were, and that was intentional on your part.”
Mehrabi was a third-year medical student at Notre Dame University and was studying to become a surgeon at the time of his offense.
Mehrabi (pictured) was a third-year medical student at Notre Dame University studying to become a surgeon at the time of his offense
CCTV footage (pictured) played in court showed Mehrabi mixing a substance into a woman’s drink while she was in the bathroom
Judge Sweeney said Mehrabi was “embarrassed” to be living with his parents in their home in Shelley in Perth’s south, so he portrayed himself as “successful, professional, wealthy, polished and interesting”.
She said Mehrabi’s actions had become so “self-absorbed” that he did not stop his offending even after two of his victims showed clear signs of distress.
‘[That] “I did not moderate your behavior because it was all about you and your needs,” the judge said.
“You deceived the young women to whom you secretly gave MDMA, in a very controlling manner on your part and without regard to them.”
Seven women filed complaints about Mehrabi and he was found guilty of sexual assault charges against five of them, along with other drug charges and a charge of threatening a person’s breathing by putting pressure on the neck.
He was acquitted of one charge of binge drinking.
Mehrabi testified that the drug use and sex were consensual, but the jury found him to be an unreliable witness with a history of telling lies, including about his age, height and whether he lived with his parents on the dating apps.