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The Canberra Times
The Canberra Times
Tim Piccione

'Kees was here': Car park rapist graffitied, filmed 'frozen' victim

A rapist who graffitied and filmed his victim during a car park sexual assault has left the traumatised woman feeling like a "piece of property" by the "sickening writing" on her body.

"This night was the first time I truly understood the concept of fight, flight and freeze," she wrote in an impact statement.

An agreed statement of facts tendered to the ACT Supreme Court details Marquis Monte Rex Mack's callous entitlement over his victim, whose "direct, pointed protests" he repeatedly ignored over more than an hour.

The 22-year-old man, who goes by the nickname "Kees", previously admitted to two counts of sexual intercourse without consent and one count of threatening to distribute intimate images.

Mack's crimes involved tagging the victim with things like "Kees was here", "Kees is Daddy", his phone number and social media handles using a black permanent marker.

He then humiliated the woman further by filming the graffiti and her body. He ignored requests for him to stop and told her: "This is so funny. I've got to send this to my workmate."

"Like just chill. No one is going to know it is you," he said.

Marquis Mack pictured in 2020. Picture Facebook

The victim, who was present in court on Friday to watch the perpetrator's sentencing proceedings, recalled asking herself whether she was alive or stuck in a nightmare during the late-night ordeal.

"[After the assault], I couldn't look at myself in the mirror without seeing the sickening writing that was tagged over my entire body as if it were a piece of property," she wrote.

"This offence has left me feeling empty inside, as if every part of me has been stripped away in a matter of minutes by a man I had never met before."

The pair met in December 2021 at Braddon's Hopscotch bar on Lonsdale Street.

After exchanging Snapchat details, Mack asked the victim to go across the road and there, to her surprise, asked her to have sex. She immediately expressed hesitance.

Braddon's Hopscotch bar, where Mack and the victim met. Picture by Keegan Carroll

While court documents outline some consensual sexual activity in the alcove of the nearby car park, it's also clear the victim's repeated withdrawal of consent was ignored.

Mack raped the victim in multiple ways despite her verbal and physical resistance, and told her to be quiet because people around them would hear.

That assault only stopped when others arrived at the car park.

After his arrest the following day, the man told police the sexual assault had been consensual and he "100 per cent had permission". He initially fought the charges but pleaded guilty a month before a trial.

Prosecutor David Swan told the court only a custodial sentence could reflect the seriousness of the crimes committed.

Mr Swan also said Chief Justice Lucy McCallum should be cautious about making positive findings of remorse just from a letter of apology Mack had written.

Defence barrister James Sabharwal said he could not provide the court with an explanation for Mack's actions. He noted the offender had the support of his family.

In her impact statement, the victim said she would never stop thinking about the day she would have to tell her children about the assault.

"Despite the heinous nature of this crime, I fought for justice so they can live in a world where offenders are held accountable for their actions," she wrote.

Mack, who has already spent 17 days behind bars, is set to learn his sentence next month.

  • Support is available for those who may be distressed. Phone Lifeline 13 11 14; beyondblue 1300 224 636;Canberra Rape Crisis Centre 6247 2525.
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