Rony Niatin, 37, has been handed a jail sentence by the ACT Supreme Court for ‘stealthing’. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
CONTENT WARNING: This article refers to sexual assault.
The second person to be sentenced for the crime of ‘stealthing’ in the ACT has been handed two years’ jail and will be deported once released from custody.
Rony Niatin, then a 36-year-old construction worker, went to a licensed Canberra brothel with his friend in November 2024, where he engaged the services of a woman who worked there as an escort.
She asked him to wear a condom when the booking began. As he wanted to perform oral sex on her, she gave him a dental dam, but he briefly performed oral sex on her without it.
The woman repeatedly told him to wear a condom, but Niatin twice removed one during sex, despite her telling him “no” and “stop”, before he pushed her onto the bed and continued to have sex with her.
This continued until she prematurely ended their booking by pretending it was over.
They returned to the reception area where she told other staff she had been sexually assaulted and police were called.
Niatin was soon arrested and has remained in custody since as he was refused bail.
‘Stealthing’ is when a person removes a condom without a sexual partner’s consent; a dental dam is a form of protection against sexually transmitted infections that is placed over a woman’s genitals.
During Niatin’s sentencing hearing earlier this month, the woman told the court she had felt very isolated since the assault and hadn’t wanted to leave her house.
“It made me turn into a gremlin who no longer felt safe in the world,” she said.
“When I did return to work, I found I was dissociating and not able to be present in a booking, which has caused me a lot of financial loss.”
In order to continue living, she has had to push down her feelings about the incident.
“I bottle up all my emotions, and sometimes I just can’t anymore, and it all comes out, and it makes life very difficult,” she said.
“I want this man to know how he treated me was not okay.”
Justice Belinda Baker said that as the woman was a sex worker, she had been in a position of vulnerability.
“The removal of the condom exposed the victim to the risk of sexually transmitted diseases and … pregnancy,” she said.
She said Niatin was a citizen of Vanuatu who came to Australia three years ago and overstayed his visa in order to work, which meant he would be deported once released from jail.
He financially supported his mother, sister, wife and his three children, but had been unable to since going into custody.
Niatin said he was under the influence of alcohol at the time, and it had been “a rare night out”.
During his sentencing hearing, he addressed the court via a Bislama interpreter, saying his life in prison has been hard as he does not speak English very well.
When asked how he felt about his crime, he said he felt “deep, deep remorse”.
“I feel I have wounded someone. I have never felt pain so deep or such remorse before,” he said.
Justice Baker said Niatin, now 37, had no prior criminal history and good prospects of rehabilitation.
But she also said people needed to understand that if they go beyond what is agreed with a sex worker, they will be held accountable.
“Offenders are sentenced in order to protect the community, of which sex workers are a part,” she said.
Niatin pleaded guilty to charges of sexual intercourse without consent and attempted sexual intercourse without consent.
He was convicted and sentenced to a total of two years’ jail with a 15-month non-parole period. As it was backdated to account for time served, he is eligible to be released from custody in February 2026.
Aleksandar Ivanovski was the first person to be sentenced for ‘stealthing’ in the Territory, and he was ordered to spend a year behind bars earlier this year.
The ACT made ‘stealthing’ illegal in 2021.
If this story has raised any concerns for you, 1800RESPECT, the national 24-hour sexual assault, family and domestic violence counselling line, can be contacted on 1800 737 732. Help and support are also available through the Canberra Rape Crisis Centre on 02 6247 2525, the Domestic Violence Crisis Service ACT 02 6280 0900, the Sexual Violence Legal Services on 6257 4377 and Lifeline on 13 11 14. In an emergency, call Triple Zero.
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