Canberra man sexually assaults 4 teenage girls after befriending them at bus stop
Sunil Premanath Batagoda gained the trust of the four teenagers by driving them to parties and buying them alcohol and drugs.
A Canberra man on Monday (30 October) pleaded guilty to the charges of sexual assault on four teenage girls.
Sunil Premanath Batagoda, 62, admitted in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Supreme Court that he gained the trust of the four teenagers by driving them to parties and buying them alcohol and drugs, before raping them in his home.
Batagoda said he became friends with the girls aged between 14 and 15 after he met them at a bus stop in Canberra's city centre by giving them lift and smoking cannabis with them.
He said he first met the girls at the Civic interchange in August 2016 and drove them home after they asked for money to catch the bus.
Batagoda then started meeting them regularly and would give them money and buy cannabis, cigarettes, food and alcohol, ABC News reported.
According to court documents, Batagoda would often take the girls to his house in Page, in Canberra's north and would provide them with what they needed. He sexually assaulted the girls on numerous occasions.
According to reports, during some assaults, Batagoda would also try to film the action on his phone.
The incidents came to light after one of the girl's father contacted the police and told that on his daughter's Facebook page he had seen a video of a young girl, who he did not believe to be 18-years-old, having sex with an older man with dark skin.
Batagoda has pleaded guilty to five charges relating to the sexual assaults, including four counts of rape of a child under 16, and one a count of committing an act of indecency on a person under 16.
He will be sentenced on 19 February 2018.
