A British ski instructor pleaded guilty on Tuesday to raping a woman and attacking her friend in a crime so vicious police initially believed more than one person perpetrated it.
Matthew James Williams, 29, faced Queanbeyan Local Court on Tuesday for assaults that took place in July in the resort town of Jindabyne in the Snowy Mountains, 110 miles south of the capital Canberra.
CCTV footage showed Mr Williams following the man and woman after they left a pub to return to their hotel at around 1am on July 5.
Mr Williams punched and kicked the 25-year-old man until he became unconscious.
According to local media, the 22-year-old woman screamed and said: “What do you want? Do you want money? Take what you want.”
Williams laughed at her before punching her in the face and causing her to black out.
When she regained consciousness, Mr Williams violently removed her clothes and raped her on the street, hitting her several times when she tried to escape.
Mr Williams fled the scene after the male victim regained consciousness and sought help from a passing motorist.
Both victims sustained injuries so severe that police thought that multiple attackers had committed the crime.
When Mr Williams turned up at work the following day, colleagues noticed he looked upset and he told them that he had a “rough, rough night”.
He claimed that his badly injured hand, which he was struggling to get into a ski glove, was caused in a skiing accident and he lodged a report with his employer.
However Mr Williams was arrested five days later after his smartwatch – which he initially claimed had been stolen – and DNA were found at the scene.
Williams has pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated sexual assault, inflicting actual bodily harm with intent to have sexual intercourse with another, and possessing a prohibited drug.
Mr Williams had been an employee of the well-known Perisher Ski Resort since 2014. He was in Australia on a temporary visa working as a ski-cross and alpine racing teacher.
The resort’s website listed him as a ‘highly experienced and knowledgeable’ teacher and his since-deleted bio read that he was “one of the most versatile members on the team and has proved himself time and time again coaching ski-cross and alpine racing.”
The victims were tourists and have since returned to their home country. Their names have been withheld.
Mr Williams will be sentenced in May.