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A former ACT public servant who climbed into a colleague’s bed and raped her will be eligible for parole next Monday. Haider Ali, 38, was sentenced in the ACT Supreme Court on Thursday to more than two years in jail. He was ordered to serve a non-parole period of 17 months, but with the sentence backdated to take into account time on remand he is only a few days shy of potential freedom. Justice David Mossop was called upon to sentence Ali after a jury found the man guilty in October of sexual intercourse without consent and two counts of committing an act of indecency without consent. It was the second time Ali had appeared in the dock to defend charges over an October 2016 incident, having fled to Pakistan midway through his first trial in 2017. The 38-year-old spent about two years on the run before being arrested in the UK, extradited to Australia and remanded in custody to face the retrial. During Thursday’s sentence hearing, Crown prosecutor Sofia Janackovic said Ali had simply not taken no for answer when the victim rebuffed his advances. She said that on the night in question, the pair ran into each other at Civic nightspot Mooseheads and Ali showed the woman notes on his phone that suggested they should “get together”. The victim politely turned Ali down, continually telling him “it would be weird” because they were colleagues. “There was no ambiguity, no mixed signals, no amber lights,” Ms Janackovic said. The prosecutor said that despite the victim making it “bleedingly obvious” she was not interested in sexual contact with Ali, the man “kept pushing and pushing”. When it came time to leave Mooseheads, Ali hopped uninvited into an Uber with the woman and her friend and lied about losing his house keys so he would have a reason to stay the night at the friend’s Spence home. Ali was meant to sleep on a couch, but the victim woke to Ali kissing her after he had climbed into her bed in a spare room. The offender then began touching the woman sexually before going on to rape her. Ms Janackovic said that all the while, the woman was saying “no” and trying to push Ali away. “‘No’ simply means just that,” she told the court. “There’s no magic to that word.” The prosecutor argued that Ali’s offending was “predatory” because he clearly knew the victim was not consenting. “It is deeply troubling that this offender … was well into adulthood and still was not able to take ‘no’ for an answer,” she said. But defence barrister Richard Thomas said the offending appeared to be opportunistic rather than predatory. “It is, of course, wrongful,” he said. Mr Thomas said Ali had good prospects for rehabilitation given his education and successful work history, network of “prosocial” friends and strong family support. In sentencing, Justice Mossop said Ali had not shown any remorse given he had pleaded not guilty to the charges and failed to make any admissions following the jury’s verdicts. The judge also described the victim’s evidence as “compelling”, and said her version of events was supported by contemporaneous messages with her friends. Justice Mossop said Ali had been assessed as being a low risk of general reoffending, but an average risk of sexual recidivism. He ultimately imposed a head sentence of two years and one month, with the 17-month non-parole period. While Ali will be eligible for release on Monday with time already served, he is also set to be sentenced that day by Magistrate James Lawton for breaching bail when he fled during his first trial.
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A former ACT public servant who climbed into a colleague’s bed and raped her will be eligible for parole next Monday.
Haider Ali, 38, was sentenced in the ACT Supreme Court on Thursday to more than two years in jail.
He was ordered to serve a non-parole period of 17 months, but with the sentence backdated to take into account time on remand he is only a few days shy of potential freedom.
Justice David Mossop was called upon to sentence Ali after a jury found the man guilty in October of sexual intercourse without consent and two counts of committing an act of indecency without consent.
It was the second time Ali had appeared in the dock to defend charges over an October 2016 incident, having fled to Pakistan midway through his first trial in 2017.
During Thursday’s sentence hearing, Crown prosecutor Sofia Janackovic said Ali had simply not taken no for answer when the victim rebuffed his advances.
She said that on the night in question, the pair ran into each other at Civic nightspot Mooseheads and Ali showed the woman notes on his phone that suggested they should “get together”.
The victim politely turned Ali down, continually telling him “it would be weird” because they were colleagues.
“There was no ambiguity, no mixed signals, no amber lights,” Ms Janackovic said.
The prosecutor said that despite the victim making it “bleedingly obvious” she was not interested in sexual contact with Ali, the man “kept pushing and pushing”.
When it came time to leave Mooseheads, Ali hopped uninvited into an Uber with the woman and her friend and lied about losing his house keys so he would have a reason to stay the night at the friend’s Spence home.
Ali was meant to sleep on a couch, but the victim woke to Ali kissing her after he had climbed into her bed in a spare room.
The offender then began touching the woman sexually before going on to rape her.
Ms Janackovic said that all the while, the woman was saying “no” and trying to push Ali away.
“‘No’ simply means just that,” she told the court.
“There’s no magic to that word.”
The prosecutor argued that Ali’s offending was “predatory” because he clearly knew the victim was not consenting.
“It is deeply troubling that this offender … was well into adulthood and still was not able to take ‘no’ for an answer,” she said.
But defence barrister Richard Thomas said the offending appeared to be opportunistic rather than predatory.
“It is, of course, wrongful,” he said.
Mr Thomas said Ali had good prospects for rehabilitation given his education and successful work history, network of “prosocial” friends and strong family support.
In sentencing, Justice Mossop said Ali had not shown any remorse given he had pleaded not guilty to the charges and failed to make any admissions following the jury’s verdicts.
The judge also described the victim’s evidence as “compelling”, and said her version of events was supported by contemporaneous messages with her friends.
Justice Mossop said Ali had been assessed as being a low risk of general reoffending, but an average risk of sexual recidivism.
He ultimately imposed a head sentence of two years and one month, with the 17-month non-parole period.
While Ali will be eligible for release on Monday with time already served, he is also set to be sentenced that day by Magistrate James Lawton for breaching bail when he fled during his first trial.
Haider Ali was sentenced in the ACT Supreme Court on Monday. Picture: Jamila Toderas
