A serial rapist who was only months out of prison when he committed a violent sexual assault along a Melbourne creek, has been jailed for more than 20 years.
WARNING: This story contains details that readers may find distressing.
Joel Russo's victim was walking along the Merri Creek in Melbourne's inner north on the evening of December 3, 2019 when she was attacked from behind.
The County Court heard the 26-year-old woman was dragged into the creek and repeatedly raped by Russo, who held her head under the water and threatened to kill her during the attack.
"I'll let you live if you let me f*** you," he told the woman.
He later told her: "Sorry for raping you. I've ruined your life, haven't I?"
The woman escaped when the pair left the creek and she was able to raise the alarm at a nearby fast-food restaurant.
Russo was arrested hours later after trying to rob a nearby service station.
In a victim impact statement, the woman said she was traumatised by the incident and suffered from post-traumatic stress, depression and was hypervigilant when out in public.
"There is no limit to the anger I feel knowing that the most life-threatening risk I took was to go for a walk alone and to be a woman," she said.
The brazen crime shocked local residents, prompting a public march in solidarity in the aftermath.
Many locals have called for safety upgrades and better lighting to be installed along the popular creek trail, but believe little has been achieved.
'A horrendous sexual attack'
On Tuesday, County Court Judge Liz Gaynor described the offending as a "horrendous sexual attack", and had previously called it "every woman's worst nightmare".
"It was predatory, persistent, highly violent, terrifying and prolonged," she said during sentencing remarks.
The judge said Russo — who is 29, has an intellectual disability and was abused as a child — committed a similar attack in 2015 when he raped a teenager near a park.
He was jailed and had only been out of custody for a few months when he carried out the Merri Creek attack.
Judge Gaynor said there had been a "dreadful oversight" by authorities who released Russo into the community after the first rape.
She said he had failed to properly understand the sex offender course he completed in prison and had not received proper treatment for his mental health and drug issues.
"It is clear in my view you fell through gaping cracks in the corrections system," she said.
The judge said it was vital Russo received proper treatment in custody, given he would inevitably be released and could once again pose a serious risk to women.
"However deplorable your upbringing, however pitiable the circumstances of your birth, the objective threat you present to women generally cannot be underestimated," she said.
Judge Gaynor sentenced Russo to 20 years and four months' jail, with a non-parole period of 17 years.
He has already served about three and a half years of that sentence.
He pleaded guilty to a litany of charges including rape, sexual assault, reckless conduct causing serious injury, attempted robbery and theft, weapon offences, causing criminal damage and committing an offence on bail.
Russo watched the sentencing hearing from prison via video link, and at times appeared emotional as details of his troubled upbringing were read out in court.
