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Brisbane man jailed for rape of Polish nanny who died before she saw justice

A man who bashed and raped a Polish nanny on the last night of her Australian working holiday has been jailed for 12 years and declared a serious violent offender.

Sep 03, 2021, updated Sep 03, 2021

Travis Alexander Manwarring, 31, attacked his victim as she was walking in a north Brisbane park in November 2016 and was declared a serious violent offender.

The declaration ensures the rapist must serve 80 per cent of his 12-year jail term.

In a heartbreaking twist, his 24-year-old victim never lived to see her attacker brought to justice.

She died less than three months after the devastating attack when her car collided with a truck.

Manwarring was found guilty in April 2020 when a jury rejected his claim the rape was “consensual sex gone wrong” before finally being sentenced in the Brisbane District Court on Friday.

Defence lawyer Damian Walsh claimed the pair had spoken numerous times before the assault, but the court heard the woman barely spoke English.

In sentencing, Judge Nicole Kefford found Manwarring “callously left his victim battered and bruised by the side of the road” and had shown no remorse.

The court was told investigators found a bloody scene after the attack, along with Manwarring’s belt, the woman’s shoes, and blood splatter over the grass and a nearby fence.

Photos showed the victim with a blackened and bruised face but confronting camera-worn video footage was never shown to the jury, deemed to be “too prejudicial” to the defendant.

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Judge Kefford described the attack as “extraordinarily violent”.

“Your conduct involved deplorable acts of personal violence and violation of an innocent woman in a public place,” she told Manwarring.

“You subjected the complainant to degrading conduct given your rape of her in a public place.

“Your actions took advantage of a vulnerable female seeking to maintain her health and fitness by exercising in a public area.”

The victim was left dazed and confused after the attack, raising the alarm when she begged for help at a nearby home.

“You left her in a very vulnerable state. She was seen walking in the area in a dishevelled state with torn clothes and ended up at the house of a stranger,” the judge said.

“Her first word when he came to the door was ‘help’.”

Psychiatric reports found Manwarring had a history of violence with a “repetitive and consistent” behaviour which “violated the basic rights of others”.

Along with violence toward people, Manwarring had a history of animal cruelty, fire setting, deceitfulness and theft, the court found.

A lone relative of the nanny who steadfastly attended the trial broke down in tears as the

sentence was delivered.
Outside court, she declined to talk to media other than saying she was “relieved” it was finally over.

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