A Peruvian man who committed sexual offences against two Canberra women after luring them with a fake Tinder identity has been jailed for nine months.
Robelt Urdanivia, 29, pleaded guilty in the ACT Magistrates Court to two charges of committing an act of indecency against each of the women.
The court heard he used the name Raoul and provided a picture of a taller, fitter and younger man on his Tinder profile.
One of the woman told police she was initially suspicious, but Urdanivia sent her a Bumble account with the same details to convince her.
The woman said when she went to his house for casual sex, Urdanivia guided her through the house in the dark.
But she became alarmed when she saw his profile was not the one on Tinder, but rather a shorter, chubbier man.
“I don’t want this,” she told him repeatedly as he tried to touch her.
After only a few minutes the woman fled the house, later going to police.
Urdanivia used the name Raoul and provided a picture of a taller, fitter and younger man on his Tinder profile. (Reuters: Akhtar Soomro)
Another woman, who had seen press reports about the case, also went to police when she recognised the circumstances.
She told police she had felt uncomfortable when she got to the house, and wanted to leave.
She said she told Urdavinia “No,” and left.
Urdanivia expected to be deported to Peru upon release
Magistrate Glenn Theakston told the court it was an unavoidable conclusion that both women would have been extremely frightened.
One told the court she had lost her sense of security.
“[He] lured the victims for casual sex using a fake photo,” Magistrate Theakston said.
“The victims were lured onto the premises under the deception [they were to have] sex with someone else.”
Magistrate Theakston noted that “in both cases the offending was very brief”.
But he said both had found themselves in a dark house with a stranger, who took advantage of them.
Magistrate Theakston said Urdanivia had expressed remorse and acknowledged the impact on the victims in a letter to the court.
He said Urdanivia had been working in construction and had imagined a future in Australia, but now accepts that won’t happen.
Urdanivia has already served nearly all of his nine-month sentence.
When he’s released he is expected to be taken into immigration detention, and deported to Peru.
