Beyond The Darklands: Bilal Skaf

9:30pm – Monday, August 24 on Seven

Tonight on 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.

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  • http://www.throng.com.au/comment/reply/11726 Sam Hagen

    Good well rated documentaries are shown on SBS.

    Rage caters for the young when they log in home which is not in the evenings when workers are relaxing but late night.

    Most nights your audience are older – home from work and want a good relaxing movie (not about cancer or other terrible diseases) to watch.

    Or a good British drama or Cop show any of the Inspectors will do Frost, Gently, Midsomer and so on.
    ABC has the best – The Bill most watched on Saturday in the Nation!

    Reality shows are a turnoff but okay for 7.30 slot when the majority of us watch 7.30 Report to keep up with politics and what they intend to do to our hip pocket.

    We watch Southern Cross which is 7 mainly and like some of the programs but too much sport on Friday night so watch crime on ABC thank God for Auntie on weekends.

  • safsa

    Are you happy now, you multicultural Nazis??

  • Hang the Bastards

    Steve hagan’s comment may have been a rant but the other comments relay what was a shocking article. I’m proudly Australian, non Muslim and if I say these bastards should have been hanged it’s not that I’m racist but disgusted about what these human beings could do to others. there’s no excuse and no reason for Australian society to pay to keep them in jail.

    What also disgusted me is the attitude of many of our muslim brothers, given safe haven in Australia who are totally racist and anti Australian. We have the Cronula riots being called racist because we stood up to these types of animal when they attacked our young women and a life guard. We’re being called racist for jailing these rapists.

    Let them also call us racist by sending these and all other Lebanese, whether born here or not back where they came from so our Australian culture and Australian women are safe from their barbaric and self indulgent beliefs. We don’t need or wnt these people inmour country.

  • Just not cricket

    After watching this program firstly an enormous amount of courage showed by Anna and the other rape victims to come forward to charge Bilal Skaff with rape, congratulations for outing such deplorable filth in our society, your bravery eventually lead to the charging and jailing of young muslim rapists and no doubt saved other women from being lured and raped by the same gang. Unfortunately those 26 muslim men at the time tarred the rest of the lebanese and muslim community by their actions of brutal rape and disregard for women in general, those “good lebanese boys” also served to completely embarrass and disgrace the entire lebanese community as well. However I don’t recall seeing a mullah apologising to the women and their families on behalf of all muslims but I’m sure they did. There is a forum available on a muslim website tonight that seems to think the program was racist…which is a suprise that the reporting of the truth about Bilal Skaf who has been legally charged as a rapist is somehow being vicitimised in the name of racism. This is the same Bilal Skaf that was found guilty of multiple rape, that had evidence presented before a court, that had more trials than has ever been heard of and was ultimately found guilty. Thank god he is now in jail for 35 years and hopefully never sees the light of day….seems to me crying racism is a convenient excuse for inexcusable behaviour or just a poor defence to some in this community that turn a blind eye to the actions of those boys as being acceptable instead of what it is – a criminal offence. What a relief the rest of our society including our justice system, the jury, jurors and other progressive muslims don’t see it that way – we can’t all be racist can we ?

  • Kenny

    What was this rant about? If you are going to make a comment at least make it relevant to the subject otherwise stop wasting everyone’s time

  • John

    Kenny, you feel that his comment is in some way unrelated to the situation – he may be angry, but that does not make him wrong surely?

    Evil crimes need tough sentences/action or we all sink a little lower into “you can get away with it.”

  • hitler

    B SKAF, SOMEONE TORTURE THESE BASTARDS AND THE MOTHER, HE WILL BE OUT WHEN HE’S 42 AND WILL DO IT AGAIN, HE SHOWS NO REMORSE!
    WE WANT A REPUBLIC AND BRING IN THIS KIND OF SHIT I DON’T THINK SO LET THEM ALL BOMB THEMSELVES, THIS PACK OF SHIT SHOULD HAVE BEEN USED AS SUICIDE BOMBERS WHEN THEY WERE 1 DAY OLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    BY THE WAY IF ANYONE IS INTERESTED REMEMBER THE FAMILY LIVES AT GREENACRE & THE NAME WAS SKAF!
    WHAT A DISGUSTING FAMILY!

  • Horrified

    My hat goes off to Anna and the other victims. How courageous you are for speaking out about the horrendous crimes that you have endured to ensure justice prevails. You are amazing, strong, courageous women that have so much ahead of you. I am so incredibly sorry for your pain and hurt.
    We should not retaliate with racism as it is not the entire Lebanese community and I am sure most of them are just as horrified that human beings could and have done this to others. However, they do need to stand united with all other Australians against this type of crime to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
    And I sleep restful at night knowing that justice will take its course for these animals during their jail term. Real men in the prison will not treat these animals well.

  • Daniel

    We should all vote YES to Proposition 22…which is exterminate all the lebo’s..they dont deserve to live..we should beat them till they cant beat again..and steal there hommus and tabouli…dat will teach them..

  • Kimmy

    The lebo’s always think they are the victims, when will they get over it. For once in their life they should man up to their own actions, and not to try blame everyone else but themselves. They are a nuisance to every community. Go to Stanmore Mc. Donalds and you will see the lebo’s in their cars just hanging out in the car pack eye-balling people. Its pretty sad if you ask me. Get a life, if you cant stay out of everyone elses life..

  • ace

    If u think this is racist u must be a winging loser.When beyond the darklands did an episode on Andrew Venimin (the hitman from the melbourne gangland wars) did the Greek community complain and say it was racist?? NO because he was a criminal and the facts about his life pointed to him being a muderer but everytime someone mentions Bilal skaf the muslims want to say that he got all those years because he was muslim (not all but 90% atleast)

    If the lebanese muslim community needs leaders it should be someone like Fadi who is smart and can see the truth in situations regardless of race rather than an idiot like kaser trad

  • ace

    If u think this is racist u must be a winging loser.When beyond the darklands did an episode on Andrew Venimin (the hitman from the melbourne gangland wars) did the Greek community complain and say it was racist?? NO because he was a criminal and the facts about his life pointed to him being a muderer but everytime someone mentions Bilal skaf the muslims want to say that he got all those years because he was muslim (not all but 90% atleast)

    If the lebanese muslim community needs leaders it should be someone like Fadi who is smart and can see the truth in situations regardless of race rather than an idiot like kaser trad

  • Racha

    I am Australian born Christian Lebanese and equally disgusted at the terrible crimes that Bilal Skaf and his gangs committed. But I am also digusted at how people discriminate against all Lebanese i.e. “whether born here or not back where they came from so our Australian culture and Australian women are safe from their barbaric and self indulgent beliefs”. I am an upstanding citizen working within the media industry and hate the way people assume all Lebanese are like that. And for the record, so are all my Lebanese relatives and friends… law abiding citizens that contribute to the Australian culture and proud to be Lebanese Australians.

  • proud aussie

    Very good story on beyond the darklands.Pity the parents of this thug has no respect for the australian women in this story.
    They should be sent home and never set foot in this country again,totally discusting behavior from a grown women.
    Her little darling is a first class A—–

  • AndrewB

    Would everyone please take the racism out of this story. Just because the guy was Lebanese does not mean all Lebanese are the same. In every race there is always a minority who set a bad example.

    No different to thinking all Aussies are mass murderers just because someone like Martin Bryant killed 35 people in cold blood at Port Arthur in 1996.

  • jules

    it really upsets me that these dirty lebanese MUSLIMS give us lebanese christians a bad name ,we r law abiding citizens who hav been here 4 100 yrs working 2 build this country ,and 2 get away from these dirty dogs and yet they followed us here 2 sit on the dole and cause havoc

  • john

    bilal skaf is a great boy

  • sarah j

    jules you are so rude…your the dog!!!