A University of Western Australia law graduate is facing a possible prison sentence for raping a fellow student during post-exam celebrations on Perth’s Rottnest Island.
Luigi Ignace Rayapen, 26, pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting the then 21-year-old woman, who had allowed him to stay in her shared holiday house after a night of drinking in 2020.
The WA District Court heard the victim, a fellow UWA student, woke to Rayapen rolling her over and groping her, while her friend slept beside them in the bed.
The woman initially pretended to be asleep “hoping he’d stop”, but he persisted, ignoring her repeated pleas and attempts to push him off.
The court was told Rayapen squeezed her breast so hard it bruised and bit her on the face while trying to kiss her.
It was only when she grabbed him by the throat that he backed off.
He then refused to leave when her friends confronted him, staying in the bed until morning when he eventually apologised.
Two weeks later, his victim extracted another confession out of him in a taped phone call to use as evidence.
On the morning he was meant to stand trial, Rayapen pleaded guilty to sexual penetration without consent and aggravated indecent assault, on the condition two other charges were dropped.
He will be sentenced in September.
