A 32-year-old man will spend more than five years behind bars after raping a woman in Adelaide’s CBD in 2021.
Key points:
- Harpreet Singh Chahal was sentenced to more than seven years in jail for rape
- Chahal followed a woman walking in the Adelaide CBD
- The victim says her life has been impacted forever
WARNING: This story contains details readers may find distressing.
Harpreet Singh Chahal was sentenced today after he pleaded guilty to one count of rape.
The court heard the victim rented an apartment on Morphett Street for a 35th birthday celebration with a group of friends in September 2021.
The victim was walking home alone after a night out when she attended bars and a Peel Street restaurant, the court heard.
She finished her night at the Exeter Hotel and started to walk back to her accommodation about 12:30am.
She walked past two men on Flinders Street who started to follow her.
The court heard that Chahal made comments to the woman such as “you look hot” and “don’t you want to stop and talk to us?”, to which the victim replied “no” and kept walking.
Both men continued to follow her on the street before Chahal pulled on her arm, which caused the victim to stumble, the court heard.
At the time, Chahal told the victim how much she’s “going to like it” when he grabbed and took her off the street before smashing her mobile phone on the ground.
The court heard Chahal raped the victim, and she asked him to stop multiple times.
After the assault, both men ran off and police…