Sydney-based Indian-Australian Balesh Dhankhar has been found guilty to each of the 39 charges brought against him.
A District Court jury in Sydney’s Downing Centre found that Dhankar lured five women, paralysed them with drugs, and sexually assaulted them.
Dhankar was a volunteer member and former President of the Overseas Friends of Bhartiya Janta Party (OFBJP) and resigned from the group in July 2018.
In a tweet, OFBJP Australia said that they “condemn his actions and he must face the full force of law.”
SMH reported that the jury was told that when police raided Dhankhar’s apartment in October 2018, the officers found videos of him having sex with various women.
Police said that these explicit videos were sorted into folders methodically and also labelled with names.
One such video was bookmarked: “Small drugged Korean f—ed webcam roleplay”.
Further, it was revealed in the SMH report, a spreadsheet on Dhankar’s computer included names of victims, an attractive score, sexual experience, and their reaction to being drugged and abused.
It is also reported that Dhankhar’s wife supported him in court, while he blamed this on loneliness on the “unfulfilling” intimacy of his marriage.
Dhankhar asked to remain on bail but Judge King refused. He will face court again in May to be sentenced.
