Perth café owners sentenced over rape of a mother in 2018, labelled ‘weak’ by WA Judge Barbagallo

A judge has slammed two Perth café owners labelling them as ‘weak’ after they raped a female customer while they locked her panicked daughter out of the venue.

Judge Carmel Barbagallo dealt the harsh comments as she sentenced  ‘John’ Mehta to seven-and-a-half years and Manmohit ‘Mo’ Singh Sachdeva to seven years in jail, reports The West Australian. 

Perth’s District Court was told the horrific crime committed by the men left ‘a devastating impact’ on their victim, as the pair claimed she consented to the sexual activity. 

Rohit ‘John’ Mehta (pictured) has been found guilty of the 2018 rape of an intoxicated customer at his Perth cafe and sentenced to seven years in jail

In 2018 the woman had visited Hangout on Preston in Como on July 26, with her teenage daughter, she was later found unconscious and semi-naked in an office at the back of the venue – with a blood alcohol level five times over the legal drink-drive limit.

The pair were initially chatting to another customer when they were joined later in the night by the two café owners who doused the woman with alcohol – including wine and tequila shots.

Becoming increasingly concerned over how intoxicated her mother was getting, the daughter tried to persuade her to leave. 

The men ushered the woman’s daughter outside where Mehta told her he ‘would look after’ her mother, while Sachdeva assured her not to worry before returning inside and locking the door.  

Mehta claimed the woman consented by kissing Metha (pictured) despite CCTV showing the heavily intoxicated being unable to walk

When the pair didn’t allow the daughter to re-enter, despite her screaming to be let back inside, she rushed home to call her grandmother. 

The daughter returned to the cafe with her grandmother who demanded to be let in or they would call the police – at which point the door was unlocked and they found the woman on a sofa under a blanket with her underwear removed. 

At trial, the two men, who have been friends for decades, claimed the woman had wanted a threesome and faked being unconscious because she was embarrassed, reports The West Australian. 

The men also claimed they had made the ‘honest and mistaken’ belief the woman had given consent after ‘flirting’ with the pair and eventually kissing Mehta. 

The jury rejected their claim, sentencing the accused in less than an hour. 

CCTV footage played to the Court showed Mehta carrying the woman to an office at the back of the venue as Sachdeva cleared the corridor so they could pass. 

Audio was also captured of the men discussing who ‘should go first’. 

Judge Barbagallo described the footage as ‘confronting’, discrediting the pairs claims, saying there was no doubt the victim could be capable of voluntarily consenting to anything. 

In 2018 the woman and her teenage daughter had gone to Como café Hangout (pictured) for dinner at drinks

‘To reason that a woman who drinks to the point of intoxication puts herself in a vulnerable position or is asking for trouble is firstly blaming the victim for the weaknesses in others such as yourselves,’ Barbagallo said.

‘And secondly, entirely takes away the responsibility of men like you to act appropriately …’ 

The Judge didn’t hold back as she slammed the men for preying on the intoxicated woman for the purpose of ‘their own sexual gratification.’  

‘You took advantage of a woman who was so clearly and obviously intoxicated, and incapable of freely and voluntarily consenting to sexual activity.’

The grandmother had previously testified the woman was unconscious and they could not wake her, prompting her to call an ambulance. 

She said Mehta demanded she not call paramedics and kept telling her to ‘let me explain’. 

He then admitted he ‘f***ed her’ despite knowing he ‘shouldn’t have’. 

After paramedics arrived the woman returned a blood alcohol reading of 0.25 and a rape kit swab returned a match for Mehta’s DNA – which was also found on the blanket and pillowcase. 

Rohit ‘John’ Mehta and Manmohit ‘Mo’ Singh Sachdeva has plied the woman with so much alcohol she returned a blood alcohol reading of 0.25 – five times over the driving limit

Police were also called and the two men were arrested – with Sachdeva claiming in his interview the woman had consented to the sexual assault. 

‘She was the one who instigated all this the moment she walked in … She’s [in her 40s], we are in our mid 20s and she wanted to have fun,’ he said. 

Mehta was charged with rape and Sachdeva was charged with aiding and abetting – with the jury finding them both guilty. 

In sentencing Judge Babagallo made comment that neither man appeared remorseful for their actions, while Metha’s lawayer told the court his client rejected the jury’s verdict.

‘Having reassured her daughter as to her mother’s safety, you took advantage of a woman who was so clearly and obviously intoxicated, and incapable of freely and voluntarily consenting to sexual activity,’ she said.

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