A prominent Indian community leader in Australia, Balesh Dhankhar, has received a lengthy prison sentence for the predatory rapes of five Korean women. The married IT consultant manipulated his victims by posting false job advertisements to entice them, subsequently drugging them in or around his home. Dhankhar proceeded to sexually assault these women, even recording the assaults for his own gratification.
All victims were either unconscious or severely impaired during the assaults. The police uncovered an Excel spreadsheet on Dhankhar’s computer, which detailed his interactions with each victim, including personal information and assessments of their vulnerability, indicating a calculated and manipulative approach to his crimes.
During the sentencing, District Court Judge Michael King described Dhankhar’s actions as “premeditated” and “highly predatory.” He stated that the scale of Dhankhar’s offences was unprecedented in New South Wales. The judge conveyed that the defendant demonstrated a blatant disregard for the well-being of his victims, referring to the acts as a series of planned predatory behaviours against unrelated young women over an extended period.
Advocates for victim-survivors praised the judge for recognising the deep impact these crimes had on the victims. One survivor expressed the lasting emotional wounds caused by Dhankhar, reinforcing the seriousness of sexual violence as a crime. Karen Iles, a victim-survivor advocate, highlighted the importance of such sentences for deterring future crimes, noting that a significant percentage of women in Australia have faced sexual assault at some point.
Before his arrest in 2018, Dhankhar was well-regarded within the Indian-Australian community, having established a satellite group for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party and served as a spokesperson for the Hindu Council of Australia. His professional background included data visualisation consulting for major organisations, and he arrived in Australia as a student in 2006. However, his public persona was starkly inconsistent with the predatory character revealed during the trial.
Following the assault of his fifth victim in October 2018, authorities searched his Sydney apartment, discovering date-rape drugs and a covertly modified video recorder. Dhankhar was convicted in 2023 on 39 charges, including 13 counts of sexual assault, although he continues to deny wrongdoing, suggesting a misunderstanding of consent. He faces a minimum of 30 years in prison, with his non-parole period lasting until April 2053. By the completion of his sentence, Dhankhar will be 83 years old.
For anyone needing support, assistance is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800 737 732, and Lifeline can be reached at 13 11 14.