A Victorian man who followed and then raped two women while they were out walking has been jailed for at least seven years and six months.
Justin Mathieson attacked the women, then aged 32 and 47, while they were walking along the Bay Trail, in Melbourne's southeast, in separate incidents in February and October 2012.
Mathieson, 32, on Thursday faced the Victorian County Court, where he was jailed for a total of 12 years after pleading guilty to four counts of rape and indecent assault.
"It is no exaggeration to describe your actions as every woman's worst nightmare," Judge Amanda Chambers said.
"You preyed on two women, seven months apart, for your own sexual gratification. They were entitled to be safe."
Mathieson told the 32-year-old woman, whom he attacked in October 2012, he was "really horny" and "just wanted sex".
He also threatened to stab her with a pair of scissors if she screamed.
The woman managed to fight him off and run away as he reached for a condom, but he chased her down and persisted.
She described in court the devastating impact of the attack, which led to her suffering from depression, anxiety, fatigue and social isolation.
"I still don't feel safe anywhere where I am alone," the woman said in a statement.
"I feel like I wasted the best years of my life at home alone doing nothing."
She also described how her dream of becoming a mother was fading as she hadn't felt comfortable meeting people and forming relationships.
"It is highly unlikely I will become a mother and have a family chapter of life," she said.
"This is devastating for a woman to accept."
The other woman, then aged 47, recalled seeing Mathieson while out on a long walk with a friend.
"There was something disconcerting and creepy about him," she said.
The woman then had a "sinking feeling" when she, now alone after her friend went home, saw him again several hours later.
He then ran up behind her and attacked.
"That's when the nightmare began," she said.
"The sound of running feet ... still causes my heart to pound and fill me with fear."
Mathieson, who suffers from schizophrenia and anxiety, has previously been convicted for touching teenage girls on a bus and at an ice rink, the court heard.
He must serve at least seven years and six months in prison before being eligible for parole.
