Adam Kabbout, 28, has lost his appeal against convictions for gang rape, stemming from an incident in April 2022 where he brought three friends to his Tinder date's home and ordered them to sexually assault her. The NSW Court of Criminal Appeal upheld the jury's verdicts, ruling that they were entitled to accept the victim's account of the events.
Kabbout had met the 22-year-old woman eight months prior through the dating app. He arrived at her home in western Sydney with three associates. While the woman was in the shower, Kabbout let the other men into the apartment. When she emerged, she found the strangers in her living room.
Despite her repeated protests, including saying "No, I don't want to," Kabbout directed her into her bedroom with the other men. Evidence presented in court indicated that Kabbout instructed her to perform sexual acts and coerced her to comply when she refused.
The victim reported performing oral sex on three of the men while crying and repeatedly stating she did not want to. One of the co-accused then raped her twice. Kabbout reportedly watched and encouraged the others to take turns assaulting her.
A five-second video, taken on one of the assailants' phones, captured a moment of the victim resisting. In the footage, she can be heard saying "I don't want..." as a man pulled her head towards his penis. She repeated, "I don't want to," and attempted to push his arm away. The woman was unaware the video was being recorded.
Kabbout was convicted of four counts of aggravated sexual assault in company as a participant in a joint criminal enterprise. He was acquitted of two similar charges involving a co-accused. His appeal argued that the verdicts were unreasonable and that the prosecution had not proven "directorial acts," and that inconsistencies in the victim's testimony undermined her credibility.
In November 2024, Kabbout was sentenced to six years and six months in jail, with a non-parole period of three years and three months. His sentence commenced on July 23, 2023, due to onerous bail conditions. His non-parole period is set to expire on October 22, 2026.
Police arrested Kabbout in June 2022 at his family home in Ashcroft. Two months after the incident, a dawn raid led to his arrest, with other men being charged in subsequent months. The court stated in its findings that "It was well open to the jury to reach the verdicts against the applicant which they did."