Sunday April 26 9:30pm
In this week’s episode of BEYOND THE DARKLANDS, we delve into the mind of the teenager who led a gang of savage rapists on a rampage that shocked Australia.
Bilal Skaf orchestrated attacks that would shake public confidence in the justice system, ignite racial tension and leave behind scores of women whose lives are damaged forever.
In 2000, a series of brutal gang rapes took place in Sydney. The gang leader was 18-year-old Bilal Skaf, who with his brother Mohammed, organised the abduction and rape of four girls in three separate attacks, one of them lasting more than six hours. Up to 14 men were involved, with the youngest just 13.
Even after they were caught, the rapists continued to harass the victims, knowing that without key testimony from a victim, police wouldn’t have a case.
According to police these were the worst rapes they had ever investigated. The judge agreed, giving Bilal Skaf the longest jail term for an offence that wasn’t murder.
At no stage did Skaf show any remorse or compassion for the girls whose lives he had ruined. Eight years later, one of the victims reveals in Beyond the Darklands that she still has trouble coping.
Clinical psychologist Dr Leah Giarratano will reveal what drove Bilal Skaf Beyond the Darklands…
How can an ordinary young man transform himself to become the leader of a pack of violent sexual predators? And how can he fail to see what he is doing is wrong?
In BEYOND THE DARKLANDS, interviews with those who knew them best as well as the police who investigated their crimes allows Dr Giarratano to dissect their personalities and ultimately offer some insight into why they committed these horrific crimes.
How did these fearsome criminals come to be – was it their upbringing, their influences or were they born evil?
BEYOND THE DARKLANDS is narrated by actor Samuel Johnson.
Loading ...