An Adelaide disability worker found guilty of raping a woman with an intellectual disability has been allowed to remain in the community after a judge granted him permission to “arrange his affairs” before being jailed.
On Tuesday, Arjun Kandel, 45, from Salisbury, was found guilty by District Court judge Liesl Kudelka — who presided over the trial without a jury — of rape and aggravated indecent assault.
Kandel was accused of sexually assaulting one woman in the care home’s granny flat and a second after the victim had finished showering.
Judge Kudelka found Kandel not guilty of aggravated indecent assault of the first alleged victim but guilty of rape and aggravated indecent assault of the second.
“I do not consider that [the first alleged victim] is lying or making things up. I am satisfied there was indecent conduct, but I am unsure about the nature of it,” Judge Kudelka said.
“In those circumstances, I find the accused not guilty of [that count].”
However, Judge Kudelka said she was satisfied that Kandel knew that the second victim — who described the rape in her evidence — was not consenting.
“When it happened, neither of them spoke,” Judge Kudelka said.
“[The second victim] said in the interview that what happened was ‘a bad thing’.
“[Kandel] knew she was a resident of the facility. As her responsible carer that day, he must have been aware of the level of care she required and the reason for that level of care, namely, that she had very limited intellectual capacity.”
Prosecutor Lisa Dunlop said, during the trial, that Kandel was called in to work at a home shared by three women, all of whom lived with an intellectual disability, in August 2020.
She told the court that the carer who took over from Kandel noticed the washing machine on at night and a change in the demeanour of the women.
Ms Dunlop said the replacement carer asked Kandel what had happened, and, in relation to the second victim, he responded there had been an “accident on the bed”.
Kandel ordered to ‘surrender his passport’
Today, Judge Kudelka accepted defence lawyer Andrew Culshaw’s request to continue Kandel’s bail to “arrange his affairs”.
“He has limited supports in the community,” Mr Culshaw said.
“He is currently living in shared rental accommodation, he needs to pack up and organise a power of attorney.”
Judge Kudelka gave Kandel four weeks to do that before he surrenders himself to authorities.
“I will add a condition that he surrender his passport … by 5pm today,” Judge Kudelka said.
She also changed Kandel’s bail to require he report to the Elizabeth Police Station by 5pm every Monday, Wednesday and Friday during the four weeks.
The matter returns to court in June before sentencing submissions in July.
