A Victorian chef and restaurant owner who raped a woman after plying her with vodka has been jailed for at least three years and six months.
Pradeep Suriya, 43, regularly invited the woman, who cannot be named, for a drink at his now-defunct Port Fairy restaurant.
She usually declined.
But on this occasion in March 2018 the woman, upset after her father was admitted to hospital, ended up drinking heavily with Suriya in a courtyard area.
He pulled down her pants after asking to see a scar on her leg before helping her walk back inside the restaurant.
The woman told Suriya she didn't feel comfortable, didn't want to have sex and that she had a boyfriend.
But the father-of-two both orally and digitally raped her.
He also took two pictures of her vagina and sent them to a friend, before trying to buy off the woman's silence as he drove her home.
Suriya on Tuesday faced the Victorian County Court, where Judge Claire Quin sentenced him to a total of seven years in prison.
He had pleaded guilty to two counts of rape and one count of distributing an intimate image.
These actions had "ruined" the woman's mental health, the court heard, leaving her an "angry person who lashes out easily" and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.
"You were aware of her vulnerable emotional state, aware of her presentation that night and her inability to handle such excess, and took advantage of it for your own sexual pleasure, Judge Quin told Suriya.
Suriya, who had no prior criminal history, must serve at least three years and six months in prison before being eligible for parole.
