Aleksandar Ivanovski was found guilty earlier this year of raping a sex worker by stealthing her. Photo: Albert McKnight.
CONTENT WARNING: This story refers to sexual assault.
The first person to be sentenced for ”stealthing” in the ACT will spend a year behind bars.
In an ACT Supreme Court jury trial earlier this year, Aleksandar Ivanovski was found guilty of one count of sexual intercourse without consent.
In December 2021, he arrived at a Canberra brothel and engaged the services of a sex worker. At that point, he was told any sexual acts would require a condom.
He asked whether he could have sex with the victim without a condom, but she refused.
While he would initially agreed to wear one, the victim later saw him bending down to pick a condom up from the floor at the end of the session.
She then asked, ‘Did you just f–king stealth me?’, which refers to removing a condom without a partner’s consent during sex, which the ACT made illegal in 2021.
During sentencing on Friday (6 June), Acting Justice John Burns said Ivanovski was “well aware” of how the victim had only consented to intercourse with a condom.
“The victim made it clear to you that unprotected sex was not going to happen,” he said.
While Ivanovski was not the first person to be charged with ‘’stealthing’’ in the Territory, he is the first person to reach sentencing for the crime, as other cases remain before the courts.
He also said the assault, while at the lower end of the mid-range of similar offending, had a “significant impact” on the victim.
Acting Justice Burns also acknowledged the victim’s statement to the court, where she described the effects of the assault and the investigation that followed, such as impacts to her mental health and relationships.
“She found it difficult to express in words the feelings that have come from being sexually assaulted,” he said.
At a sentencing hearing, the prosecution had urged the court to find that Ivanovski’s decision to take off the condom was premeditated.
However, Acting Justice Burns said that while it was “opportunistic” offending, he couldn’t rule out the possibility that he “spontaneously” decided to remove the condom.
He also did not accept an argument from defence barrister Joshua Nottle that the delay between the 2021 offending and his client being charged in June 2023 was unreasonable.
Acting Justice Burns said it was “difficult to assess” Ivanovski’s rehabilitation prospects.
He found Ivanovski had a low risk of general reoffending, but an above-average risk of sexual reoffending.
He was also described as having a “very good work history”, limited family support in the ACT and a history of drug use.
The court heard a pre-sentence report said that he was “reluctant” to talk about the offending.
“You have, in fact, demonstrated no remorse whatsoever,” Acting Justice Burns said.
He sentenced Ivanovski to a partially suspended sentence, to run until December 2027.
He will be imprisoned until June 2026, before being released on a good behaviour order.
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.
You can also submit an online report about a historical sexual assault allegation for incidents that occurred more than six months ago.
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