A man who attacked women walking alone at night in Sydney, including one victim he tried to sexually assault, will spend at least the next six years behind bars.
A 23-year-old woman was walking home through the inner city suburb of Surry Hills in December 2013 when she was grabbed from behind by Jason Brooks.
Brooks, who was sentenced in Downing Centre District Court on Friday, put his hand over the girl's mouth and dragged her into bushes.
He sat on top of her and pulled at her shorts and collar, before trying to unbuckle his belt, the court heard.
The young woman struggled, suffering scratches in the process, before two men who were walking by heard her screams.
Brooks ran off, with the two men in tow, before police arrested him.
He was later found guilty of inflicting actual bodily harm with intent to have sexual intercourse.
The court heard Brooks, who had used drugs and alcohol from his mid-teens, was serving a bond when the offence happened for two driving offences.
Brooks was also sentenced on Friday for another indecent assault, after pushing a woman to the ground outside Caringbah train station in November 2011 and putting his face between her legs on the outside of her clothes.
He had also been involved in two other similar incidents outside railway stations, the court heard.
In victim impact statements tendered in court, the women detailed the lasting impacts of the traumatic events.
One woman said the life she lived before her experience no longer existed.
"My independence is gone... my home feels like it's no longer mine," she wrote.
Another victim wrote of the "helplessness" she felt knowing no one could hear her screams when she was attacked.
Judge Sarah Huggett said Brooks, who was bullied at school and physically abused by his stepfather, suffered from autistic spectrum disorder.
He will be eligible for parole in January 2020.
His mother and sister sobbed as the sentence was read out while Brooks, who appeared via video link, did not react.
Share
