Australian fugitive mistakenly turns himself in years after attack

Martin Bielecki has finally faced court 18 years after indecently assaulting a woman. Photo / 123rf

A man sentenced for indecently assaulting and detaining a woman avoided police for nearly two decades until he reported an incident with his neighbour to officers.

Martin Bielecki had a warrant out for his arrest since 2004 and was only apprehended for the attack after walking into an Adelaide police station.

On February 24, 2004, the then 21-year-old aggressively assaulted and threatened a woman, who cannot be legally named, after becoming angry at her perceived infidelity.

He forced her to drive to his home, broke the window of her car after she refused to get out and made her enter his residence.

Despite her terrified cries, Bielecki threatened the woman before picking her up, throwing her onto his bed and pushing her back down whenever she tried to get back up.

He held her down, accused her of infidelity and caused bruising to her genitals as he indecently assaulted her.

Returning to the lounge, he made the woman sit down, threatened to hit her with a chair and grabbed her shoulder, telling her to be quiet and not to leave or he would be physically violent.

Bielecki eventually agreed to drive the woman to a convenience store, where she called police.

He was arrested the following day but while on bail he fled overseas and failed to appear at a court hearing in June 2004.

Bielecki avoided police until 18 years later, when he went to a police station to report the incident with his neighbour.

After telling officers there may be warrants out for his arrest, Bielecki was thrown back behind bars and extradited to NSW where he finally faced a judge over the attack in Sydney’s Downing Centre District Court.

Now 41 years old, he was convicted and sentenced on Wednesday to a jail term of two years and 11 months to be served in the community.

The victim sat in court surrounded by supporters and was seen in tears as Judge Nicole Noman handed down her decision.

The judge acknowledged the considerable trauma the woman had suffered at the hands of Bielecki while fearing for her safety.

Speaking with AAP after the hearing, the victim expressed her displeasure and disgust.

She described Bielecki’s sentence as too lenient for someone who had caused a lifetime of trauma.

“An ICO after 20 years of being a fugitive is just not good enough,” she said.

But the woman added reading a victim impact statement directly to her attacker in court had helped her receive closure, and she had been able to overcome adversity to lead a beautiful and happy life.

Judge Noman found that while Bielecki had pleaded guilty to two counts of indecent assault and one count of detain for advantage, the 41-year-old had not shown any genuine remorse or insight.

He merely regretted the impact of his actions, she added.

Bielecki had also breached his bail conditions by renting a place for himself while he was meant to be living with his 91-year-old grandfather as a carer.

Judge Noman also ordered him to perform 600 hours of community service.