By The Scribe Desk
Former OFBJP Australia president Balesh Dhankhar is accused of raping five Korean women in their mid-20s. All of the accusers are Korean.
The women claimed that between January 2018 and October 2018, Dhankhar lured them into his apartment under the pretence of offering them jobs before drugging and raping them there.
To entice women to Sydney’s Hilton Hotel bar, which is close to his apartment, Dhankhar allegedly posted a job ad for Korean-to-English translation work on the classified ads website Gumtree.
He is accused of bringing them to his apartment and raping them there after allegedly adding sleep aid or Rohypnol, a benzodiazepine known for its solubility in alcohol, to their drinks. He would reportedly record himself raping his victims using either his mobile phone or an alarm clock with a hidden camera.
According to court documents, a Korean woman who met with Dhankhar for a fake job interview in October 2018 said that Dhankhar expressed interest in her, but she told him she was not interested.
She said she felt lightheaded after drinking the wine he gave her in his apartment, so she went to the restroom and told her friend where she was.
“Sister, I feel very intoxicated however slightly different kind of intoxication,” the victim wrote in her text. “And I am worried myself. Keeps trying to kiss me… I am f*cked up.”
At his apartment in September 2018, Dhankhar gave another victim ice cream and a glass of wine, the victim recalled. She couldn’t remember anything beyond seeing the condom wrapper, getting lightheaded, and feeling pain. She visited a hospital and called the police two days later after the incident.
Prosecutors claim that the woman was seen in two videos making “distressed sounds” and being unresponsive as Dhankhar had sex with her.
Investigators allegedly discovered a hard drive containing 47 videos of Dhankhar having sex with Korean women during a police raid on his home in October 2018.
The majority of the clips feature unconscious women, but some also feature women who appear to have given their consent but weren’t aware they were being recorded.
The jury reportedly asked to leave the courtroom during the trial this week after scenes featured in the videos proved to be too much for them to handle.
Additionally, DNA evidence was found in Dhankhar’s bedding, along with a phone spreadsheet containing the names of women and notes that seemed to refer to sexual activity.
Dhankhar has entered a not guilty plea to 13 counts of rape, 17 counts of making indecent recordings without permission, six counts of using intoxicating substances to commit an offence, and one count each of assault with a pornographic act.
He has been making attempts to have his name removed from news articles for the past four years, but in vain.
Dhankhar was employed by Sydney Trains as a “lead data visualization consultant” at the time of the alleged crimes. He accepted employment from ABC and Pfizer while he was free on bail.