The man who killed Melbourne schoolgirl Masa Vukotic has admitted raping a woman in an unrelated incident at a Christian bookshop two days after the teen’s murder.
Sean Price pleaded guilty earlier this month to fatally stabbing the 17-year-old in a park near her Doncaster home in March.
Today in the Victorian Supreme Court, he pleaded guilty to a separate charge of rape.
With the guilty plea it can now be revealed Price has an extensive history of attacking women.
Court documents are yet to be released but it has been reported he previously pleaded guilty to and was jailed for 22 charges of rape, indecent assault and threatening to kill young women, including a 13-year-old girl, in Melbourne’s east.
Price had previously pleaded not guilty to the rape charge and prosecutors requested his sentence for the murder of Ms Vukotic be postponed until after the rape trial.
Justice Lex Lasry set a tentative trial date for the rape for next year, which has now been abandoned.
Price’s lawyer argued in court previously that the murder and rape allegations were two separate matters and his sentence ought not be set back.
Ms Vukotic’s family and friends were in court, but did not comment as they left the building.
Price, who was wearing a black suit and a white open-necked shirt and had a short Mohawk-style haircut, sat quietly in the dock.
He was not shackled, unlike previous court appearances where he appeared via videolink, but was flanked by five security guards.
Ms Vukotic’s father stood up when Price left the courtroom and stared at him.
Price will return to court for a plea hearing for all the charges on December 14.
This post originally appeared on ABC News.
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Related links:
Masa Vukotic killer: “A timebomb of violence who should never have been freed.”
‘Princess Marci’s Royal Parade’: A colourful tribute to Masa Vukotic.
Masa was a student. She was a daughter. She was a friend. She could have been any one of us.
Top Comments
What the hell is going on with our criminal justice system? Are they all out to lunch at the Parole Board? This is a disgrace; these departments are charged with incarcerating people to protect the community first and foremost. Since when does a habitual violent criminal get any sort of a chance to be back on the street when they can be locked up?
This is utterly outrageous and needs to stop!!!
Entomb the bastard in a bricked up room and leave him there to die, alone, forgotten and in the dark.
This is the most disgraceful injustice I have heard of in the Australian legal system. The lawyers and judges & policy makers who allowed this to happen should be held accountable. My deepest sympathy to Masa's family and all of the other victims.
Hard to fathom, isn't it. Only after a young girl is killed is it revealed that this man has "an extensive history of attacking women" - what will it take to get these animals locked up before they go too far?