Indian-origin man Sumit Satish Rastogi has been sentenced to 13 years and 10 months in prison after pleading guilty to “aggravated indecent assault and indecent filming” of 61 women in Adelaide. The court charged the unqualified massage therapist with repeated violations of trust and privacy and ruled that Rastogi’s conduct was “out of control” and that he showed “no signs of restraint.”
According to an ABC News report, the 39-year-old man was diagnosed with “voyeuristic disorder” and pleaded guilty to 97 counts of offences.
The judge said that Rastogi’s treating psychiatrist said he met the “diagnostic criteria for voyeuristic disorder because over a period of six months you experienced concurrent and intense sexual arousal from observing unsuspecting semi-naked women”.
That, however, didn’t “absolve you of responsibility of your conduct” even as it agreed that the “voyeuristic disorder is a clinically plausible explanation for your offending behaviour”.
The charges and location of offences
The offences were committed between October 2021 and July 2022 until Rastogi’s arrest. He used to work previously at a massage parlour in Glenelg, in Adelaide’s western suburbs.
Survivors speak out on the sentence
After Rastogi was convicted for over 13 years, one of the survivors said that she was “happy” with the punishment and encouraged other victims to speak out against sexual violence.
“No-one spoke out sooner, everyone knew it felt wrong and we all left just thinking that was a bit strange, but no-one actually said anything. The offending just got worse and worse,” the woman was quoted as saying by ABC News.
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Another woman said she didn’t believe Rastogi was repentant. “I read his [apology] letter, and it was all just excuses,” she told ABC News.
Judge denounces abuse of trust
Australian Judge Carmen Matteo, during the trial on Friday, detailed the crimes committed by Rastogi over the period of nine months and said, “In one way or another, you violated 61 women who were trusting, unsuspecting and entitled to safety, respect and dignity.”
The judge added that Rastogi’s offending conduct was “regular” and at times “prolific”. Judge Matteo said, “You abused their trust and treated them with an utter lack of respect and dignity when you touched them sexually and or took images which intentionally captured parts of their body which was their right to keep private and unexposed.”
