A Perth man who police allege spiked the drinks of seven women whom he met on online dating sites has been charged with multiple counts of rape.
The 31-year-old man was first charged last month, with police alleging he had met two women on different online dating sites and, while on separate dates with them, spiked their drinks and caused them to become incapacitated.
He is alleged to have raped one of the women while she was incapacitated. He was charged with two counts of sexual penetration without consent and two counts of stupefying a person in order to commit an indictable offence.
On Thursday, detectives from the sexual assault squad charged the man with a further 17 offences alleged to have committed against five more women, including seven further counts of rape.
He has also been charged with impeding a person’s breathing or blood circulation by applying pressure to the neck.
“It is alleged between February and March 2022, the man met five women through different online dating sites,” a statement released by WA police said.
“It will be alleged whilst the man was on a date with the women at either a licensed premises or his home, he put a substance in their drinks causing them to become incapacitated before sexually assaulting them.”
He has been charged with seven counts of sexual penetration without consent, four counts of stupefying in order to commit an indictable offence, two counts of common assault, two counts of supplying a prohibited drug, one count of suffocation or strangulation and one count of unlawful and indecent assault.
The man faced court on the initial charges on 25 March and is due to face Perth magistrates court on the further charges on Thursday.
Anyone with information on these or similar incidents has been asked to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or make a report online.
Detectives from the sexual assault squad have urged anyone who has been a victim of sexual abuse to contact police on 131 444.
People in WA who have been sexually abused but do not wish to contact police can contact the Sexual Assault Resource Centre on 6454 1828.
Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organisations. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 802 9999. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html
