A Perth restaurant owner has been sentenced over the horrific rape of a woman in her own home while she was so drunk she had passed out, his third sexual assault conviction.
Alberto Nicoletti, 33, found the woman outside the Windsor Hotel in South Perth in July 2020 after she fell over and, “showering her with compliments”, drove her home where she passed out drunk on her bed. He then proceeded to rape her, which he denied, telling a jury it was a consensual act.
But in a victim impact statement the woman, now 29, told the court she still experiences flashbacks and nightmares about the incident that happened when she was 23 years old.
“I often feel overwhelmed by sadness and anger,” she said, after telling a jury she had woken up on her bed the same night to find Nicoletti on top of her.
Alberto Nicoletti, left, and Vincenzo Mineo.
“I dream of the life I had before Alberto Nicoletti made the decision to rape me.”
She told the court “the effects will stay with me for life” and said the assault had affected her daily life and relationships as she battles anxiety, trust and problems sleeping.
On Friday, as he was sentenced over the crime, judge Gary Massey told Nicoletti he had serious concerns about his attitude towards women as he gave him a three-year prison term for the offence.
It’s the Italian native’s third conviction after he was found guilty of two similar sexual assaults last year which he was given a five-and-a-half year combined sentence for.
“The disturbing feature of these three convictions is Mr Nicoletti’s inability to understand consent and inability to respect the boundaries of people saying no or not being in a position to consent,” Massey said.
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