A guilty verdict against an opportunistic predator who carried out the public and "absolutely degrading" rape of a woman has been upheld.
Salvatore David Incandela, 42, was found guilty of sexual intercourse without consent by a jury in March last year, when he was also taken into custody.
A full bench of judges dismissed the rapist's appeal of that verdict in an ACT Court of Appeal judgement published on Thursday.
Incandela raped the victim in his car in November 2020, "in full view of multiple witnesses", after offering to drive the woman home from a friend's house.
He instead stopped on the dirt track of a reserve in Spence to carry out the violent and brazen assault, which left the woman with multiple injuries.
"The nature of the offending was such to cause feelings of humiliation and degradation to the victim," Chief Justice McCallum previously said.
The offender, whom the Supreme Court accepted had not shown remorse for this crime, told a court report author: "The only thing I am guilty of is having sex in public."
In June, 2022, Chief Justice Lucy McCallum sentenced Incandela to three years in prison, setting a two year non-parole period.
However, the offender appealed the jury's verdict less than two weeks later on the grounds it was unreasonable and there had been a miscarriage of justice.
Incandela made multiple submissions as part of his grounds of appeal.
His arguments included that a medical report and DNA evidence did not corroborate the victim's evidence, the woman and other witnesses were not credible, and there was no evidence to support an alternative case that the victim's consent was negated due to intoxication.
These submissions were dismissed.
"In our view, the complainants evidence was compelling," the appeal judgement said.
"It was well open to the jury to accept this evidence, and to find the offence proved beyond reasonable doubt."
The judges did not consider there to be any inconsistencies in the victim's evidence or that there should be any doubt of the woman's credibility or reliability.
The judgement also stated the requirement for corroboration of a complainant's evidence in sexual assault cases had been abolished in every Australian state and territory.
Arguing for a "miscarriage of justice", Incandela also submitted photographic evidence of the victim's bruising should not have been admitted, further CCTV should have been sought, and the trial judge made several errors in her instructions and summing up of the case.
These arguments were rejected.
Incandela initially lied to police and said he had not met his victim, or been to Spence for at least a decade.
In an interview played at his trial, the man told police he could not have raped the woman because his penis "was scared and it ran away" during a failed attempt at oral sex he claimed she had initiated.
Incandela will be eligible for parole in March, 2024.
- Support is available for those who may be distressed. Phone Lifeline 13 11 14; 1800-RESPECT 1800 737 732; Canberra Rape Crisis Centre 6247 2525.
