Skaf gang rapist still blames victims nearly two decades after his conviction

A Skaf gang rapist who was jailed for his role in the sexual assaults of at least six girls in Sydney continues to blame his victims nearly two decades after he was convicted.

Mohammed Skaf, 36, is serving 22 years behind bars with an 18-year non-parole period after his sentence was cut from 31 years after an appeal. 

Skaf was among 14 other Lebanese men, including his brother, who conducted brutal gang-rapes on schoolgirls as young as 14 in 2000. 

He is currently fighting for parole after he was denied release at the end of his non-parole period last year.

Mohammed Skaf, 36, is serving 22 years behind bars with an 18-year non-parole period after his sentenced was cut from 31 years after an appeal

During a hearing last week, the Serious Offenders Review Council labelled Skaf a ‘menace to society’ adding that he has not shown remorse for his actions.

‘It appears that he still blames the victims for his offending, has no victim empathy and refuses to take responsibility for his actions,’ The Sun-Herald reported.

Skaf was also assessed as a ‘medium to high risk’ of offending again in the next five years.

His lawyer Omar Juweinat argued his client has served his time and revealed he was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease, also known as lymphoma, and spent a year handcuffed to a hospital bed. 

‘There must be a point in a prisoner’s life where enough time is enough time. Mr Skaf is well beyond his non-parole period, has undertaken every conceivable course and was diagnosed with a very serious illness,’ Mr Juweinat said.  

 ‘At some point, the government and the public must anticipate that this man will be released into the community,’ he added. 

Mohammed’s brother Bilal Skaf (pictured) led a gang of more than a dozen young Lebanese Australians who pack raped four young women in late 2000

Judge Michael Finnane compared the Skaf gang’s depravity to outrages committed by invading armies in times of war and said their crimes were ‘worse than murder’ (Pictured: Bilal Skaf)

In the 20 years he has spent behind bars, Skaf has been involved in prison scuffles with other inmates, threatened detention officers, and has been caught using banned items such as a mobile phone, tobacco, USBs and porn, the Sydney Morning Herald reported. 

He was transferred to another detention centre in 2009 after he the phone was found in the same cell he lived in with his brother Bilal. 

In 2013, he reportedly pour boiling water on another inmate’s head. 

A decision is expected to be made on his release in August.

Skaf and his brother are the only two of the men convicted who are still serving time behind bars.  

The young men were being watched by police as they visited Bondi Beach on October 7, 2000. Right to left: Mahmoud Chami, Belal Hajeid and Mohamed Ghanem

Older brother Bilal Skaf led a gang of more than a dozen young Lebanese Australians who pack raped four young women in late 2000. 

One of the victims, an 18-year-old woman, was raped 40 times by 14 gang members over four hours in an attack coordinated by mobile phone.

She was then dumped at a train station after being hosed down.

The rapists originally received sentences totaling more than 240 years with Bilal Skaf being jailed for 55 years, later reduced to a minimum 28.

Judge Michael Finnane compared the Skaf gang’s depravity to outrages committed by invading armies in times of war and said their crimes were ‘worse than murder’.