Search

Placeholder Content Image

“Loving grandfather” ousted as serial rapist

<p dir="ltr">A local Bondi grandfather has been ousted by police as a serial rapist - one of the worst in New South Wales.</p> <p dir="ltr">Following a long 40 years of investigations and using new technology for DNA as well as a shocking 12 crime scenes, Keith “Maggo” Simms has been identified as a serial rapist.</p> <p dir="ltr">Dubbed “The Beast of Bondi”, Simms is believed to have raped and terrorised more than 30 women in Sydney's eastern suburbs from 1986 to 2001.</p> <p dir="ltr">He died earlier this year on February 20 at the age of 66.</p> <p dir="ltr">When Simms was ready to attack a woman, he would wear a balaclava and approach them with a knife, putting a hand across their mouth and threatening to kill them.</p> <p dir="ltr">It was only in 2016, when police received a weak DNA match to a relative of Simms, that they were eventually able to tie the crimes back to him.</p> <p dir="ltr">Unfortunately for his victims, Simms died before police were able to question him and get them some form of justice.</p> <p dir="ltr">His family also had no idea and referred to him as a “loving family man”, and when his wife found out she was shocked.</p> <p dir="ltr">“His family had no idea at all … we met with his wife and she was absolutely shocked,” Detective Sergeant Shelley Johns, from Strike Force Doreen said, The Daily Telegraph reported.</p> <p dir="ltr">Sex Crimes squad boss Detective Superintendent Jayne Doherty said that despite his death, it gives his victims a peace of mind knowing he’s not out there anymore.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It was important for the victim survivors and that is why we persevered. We wanted to let them know we were not just guessing it was him. It also meant we are not still looking for someone that is still out there,” she said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“So those women who are walking down the street and are still wondering: Is that him? They now know that person is deceased.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: The Daily Telegraph</em></p>

Legal

Placeholder Content Image

“Very sad day”: Disgraced star Bill Cosby offers support to rapist Harvey Weinstein

<p>Convicted sex offender Bill Cosby has shared a statement in support of Harvey Weinstein, claiming the movie executive’s rape trial was not fair and saying his conviction marked a “very sad day”.</p> <p>The disgraced comedian’s publicist Andrew Wyatt took to Instagram to release a statement which questioned where “wealthy and famous men” can “go in this country to find fairness and impartiality”.</p> <p>Yesterday, Weinstein was convicted of raping a former production assistant Mimi Haleyi in 2006 and sexually assaulting a slew of other women in 2013.</p> <p>Cosby’s account suggested the verdict was “not shocking” – but he placed the blame on the legal process.</p> <p>He said because jurors were exposed to media coverage of the high-profile case, they were swayed by “the sentiments of public opinion”.</p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/B89geHGnjfT/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;"><a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B89geHGnjfT/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">Official Statement From Andrew Wyatt Regarding The Verdict Of Harvey Weinstein: This is not shocking because these jurors were not sequestered, which gave them access to media coverage and the sentiments of public opinion. There’s no way you would have anyone believe that Mr. Weinstein was going to receive a fair and impartial trial. Also, this judge showed that he wanted a conviction by sending the jurors back to deliberate, after they were hung on many of the counts. Here’s the question that should haunt all Americans, especially wealthy and famous men...Where do we go in this country to find fairness and impartiality in the judicial system; and where do we go in this country to find Due Process? Lastly, if the #metoo movement isn’t just about Becky [White women], I would challenge #metoo and ask them to go back 400+ years and tarnish the names of those oppressors that raped slaves. This is a very sad day in the American Judicial System. #FreeBillCosby #FarFromFinished #DueProcess #JusticeReform</a></p> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A post shared by <a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/billcosby/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank"> Bill Cosby</a> (@billcosby) on Feb 24, 2020 at 11:17am PST</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>“There’s no way you would have anyone believe that Mr Weinstein was going to receive a fair and impartial trial,” said the statement.</p> <p>It also suggested the judge “wanted a conviction" as he told jurors to spend more time deliberating when they had been hung over some of the charges.</p> <p>“Here’s the question that should haunt all Americans, especially wealthy and famous men … where do we go in this country to find fairness and impartiality in the judicial system,” read the statement.</p> <p>It was then accompanied by hashtags including “#FreeBillCosby” and “#FarFromFinished”.</p> <p>In 2018, Cosby was found guilty on three counts of aggravated indecent assault and sentenced to serve three to 10 years in prison.</p>

Legal

Placeholder Content Image

"Destroyed a beautiful girl": Aiia Maasarwe's rapist and killer sentenced

<p>The man who raped and killed Israeli exchange student Aiia Maasarwe while she walked home alone in Melbourne’s north has received his jail sentence. </p> <p>Cody Herrmann 21, has been sentenced to 36 years in prison with a non-parole period of 30 years. </p> <p>The man was sentenced in the Supreme Court of Victoria on Tuesday after pleading guilty to mercilessly hitting Ms Maasarwe over the head with a metal pole a minimum of 13 times. </p> <p>His appalling crimes did not stop there - he then raped the young woman and set her body and clothes on fire in the early hours of January 16. </p> <p>Herrmann has already spent 283 days in custody, which makes him eligible for parole in 2049.</p> <p>Just two rows away from the man who murdered his daughter, sat Ms Maasarwe’s father Saeed and her sister, Noor. </p> <p>Saaed could be seen changing seats throughout the proceedings to wrap an arm around Noor’s daughter which did not move until Justice Elizabeth Hollingworth had finished her sentencing remarks. </p> <p>Justice Hollingworth became emotional while speaking of the struggles of Aiia’s family. </p> <p>“Not only did you take her precious right to life but you deprived her family of a daughter and a sister,” Justice Hollingworth said.</p> <p>“Her death left an enormous hole in their lives … why did you do these appalling things?”</p> <p>Justice Hollingworth said the horrifying treatment of Aiia’s body, after she had been murdered by Hermann was a “significant aggravating feature” of his offending.</p> <p>“Treating her body in this way showed utter contempt for her dignity,” she said.</p> <p>“She had no opportunity to flee or defend herself,” Hollingworth said to the court after describing Ms Maasarwe as “physically small, unsuspecting and alone.”</p> <p>“You quickly subjected her to a savage attack with a crude weapon until she was unconscious.</p> <p>“You dragged her off the footpath to a position of cover where you raped her … you struck her with the clear intention of killing her not merely injuring.</p> <p>“Women should be free to walk the streets alone without the fear of being violently attacked by strangers.”</p> <p>Prosecutor Patricia Bourke held back tears as she read through an emotional victim impact statement from the Ms Maasarwe’s family. </p> <p>“I can’t imagine the horror she felt when she saw Cody Herrmann’s face,” her sister Ruba told the court through her statement.</p> <p>“Codey Herrmann, you have taken one life but you have broken many more hearts.”</p> <p>Ms Maasarwe’s mother Kittam said Herrmann had “destroyed a beautiful girl”.</p> <p>“When I speak about Aiia, I am overwhelmed by sadness,” she said.</p> <p>“You cannot imagine what happened to me after her death. She was my daughter and friend. I was in touch with her every day. She used to tell me always, ‘I miss you so much Mum. When I see you again I will hug you and kiss you’.”</p> <p>Ms Maasarwe’s other sister Noor said her sibling was the best person she knew.</p> <p>“She was always smiling and full of energy. As Mother Teresa once said, ‘Some people come into our life as blessings and some people come into our life as lessons’. Aiia just happened to be both.”</p>

Legal

Our Partners

Over 60

© Copyright 2024 OverSixty.All Rights Reserved.