Sydney gang rapes

The Sydney gang rapes were a series of gang rape attacks committed by a group of up to 14 youths led by Bilal Skaf against Australian women and teenage girls (two with Italian parents, one with Greek parents and one Aboriginal Australian girl), as young as 14, in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, across several days in 2000. The crimes, described as ethnically motivated hate crimes by one columnist, were covered extensively by the news media, and prompted the passing of new laws. In 2002, nine men were convicted and sentenced to a combined total of more than 240 years in prison for their roles in the gang rapes. Although fourteen individuals were initially suspected, there was only sufficient evidence to convict nine. During sentencing, Judge Michael Finnane described the rapes as events that "you hear about or read about only in the context of wartime atrocities".