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Two rape victims have expressed fury over what they describe as a stark contrast between their cases and the intensive and rapid Victoria Police investigation into allegations of sexual assault involving Sydney Swans players.
Despite having never met, both women detailed remarkably similar experiences, claiming they were treated with hostility while their cases were beset by unnecessary delays and police under-resourcing.
One believes she may never see justice after the man accused of drugging and raping her in South Melbourne last month was able to flee home to Mexico after Victoria Police failed to place a border alert on him.
The women’s decision to speak publicly come as Victoria’s unsolved sexual-crime case rate soars to record highs.
Sam, who waived her legal right to anonymity but asked that her surname not be used, now regrets notifying police after she was allegedly raped in May by a man she met on a dating site.
Her frustration over the handling of the case turned to fury last month when she observed the police response to claims of sexual assault involving a group of Sydney Swans players at the Pullman East Melbourne hotel.
“Excuse my language, but it made me f—king livid. Clearly, they’ve got the resources when it comes to a high-profile case because they know that they’ll be under media scrutiny. But for a normal person like myself, the lack of care is just so evident,” Sam told The Age.
“They can fly detectives into New South Wales to question them within a couple of weeks, but they can’t go a suburb over to go and pull someone in for questioning.”
For 30-year-old Katie Arthur, the trauma from the police’s response to her complaint has, in some ways, eclipsed the alleged crime itself.
Arthur felt a similar fury to Sam’s about the pace of the police response to her case.
While pleading to come in and provide her statement sooner, she remembers asking – in a moment of exasperation – “What if I said I was raped by a football player?”
“I can’t process what has happened to me because I’m too busy now trying to process the letdown of the police [response],” she said.
Arthur has also given permission for her full name to be published.
“No one grows up dreaming of being the [rape victim in the paper]. But I now see the media as such a powerful outlet to speak on behalf of victims that have been let down by the one system supposed to protect them.”
A Victoria Police spokesperson said the force had been in “constant contact” with both victims and detectives had referred them to support services.
“Both [investigation] teams are progressing these matter as quickly as possible, noting the cases are complex, and we must ensure investigations are thorough,” the spokesperson said.
“We also want to be clear that any report of sexual assault is not treated any differently because we have someone with a high profile involved.”
Arthur was allegedly drugged and raped on August 2 by a tenant staying at her midterm accommodation business.
Grappling with shame and shock, she struggled to process the alleged attack before eventually reporting the incident to police on August 18.
Arthur was forced to wait another 10 days to make a formal statement, despite pleading to come in earlier and repeatedly warning police via phone and email that her alleged attacker was a flight risk.
“I am concerned the alleged rapist will leave the country as he is on a 5/6 month student visa,” she wrote in one email shared with The Age.
Detectives from Melbourne’s Sexual Offences and Child Abuse Investigations Team (SOCIT) informed her they were too busy, with one detective citing crippling understaffing, claiming their team of five was juggling 108 active cases.
Victoria Police said the delay in recording a statement was to ensure there was enough time to make a detailed report.
Despite Arthur’s warnings, the accused fled the country on August 20 or 21 – but she didn’t find out until September 3 despite being terrified that a sexual predator was still residing at her property.
“I needed to know if he was still in the country,” she said. “Not only for my safety, but he was living at the business I run. I have a duty of care to my other tenants.”
After making her statement, Arthur said detectives stonewalled her requests for updates, and questioned why she took two weeks to make her complaint.
“You’re saying you will judge the severity of someone’s case by how quickly they come forward. It’s disgusting. You may as well say, ‘Don’t come forward unless you’ve been raped that day’,” Arthur said.
A detective outside of Melbourne SOCIT is now reviewing the unit’s handling of her case after Arthur lodged a complaint.
Victoria Police said: “We take any allegations against the conduct of our members seriously and have strict procedures and policies in place.
“No alert was issued for restrictions on international travel because police did not have evidence to meet the legal threshold required to prevent the person leaving the country.”
Arthur is now grappling with the reality that the man accused of attacking her may never face justice.
“I can’t explain the trauma of not only experiencing assault … but being forced to be your own advocate, and feeling like you are not believed.
“It’s just as traumatising as being assaulted.”
Sam agonised over whether to make a report to police.
“I sat outside Oakleigh police station and tried to go in, and I was just numb and had no idea what to do. And I was afraid of not being believed,” she said.
Sam underwent a forensic examination at Monash Hospital the day after her alleged assault on May 18. She provided detectives with a statement on May 24, but claims to have been treated with a lack of empathy ever since.
She says her concerns about the pace and rigour of the police investigation have been repeatedly dismissed.
“There has been no empathy or understanding … the officer in charge of my investigation would keep saying: ‘Sam, you’re one of 30 cases that I have’,” she said.
The Victoria Police spokesperson said the “safety of victims was at the forefront for police” and that unsolved cases continue to be investigated. They added that the timing of Sam’s report to police was of her choosing. “She first wanted to take some time to consider taking police action.”
The women’s complaints come after Victoria recorded 2962 unsolved sexual offence cases at the end of March 2026, a rolling figure that leapt by 1172 cases (66 per cent) in 12 months, Crime Statistics Victoria figures show.
The rise follows a recorded 1790 unsolved cases in 2025, up 240 from the year prior. Meanwhile, 2024 recorded just 33 more unsolved cases than 2023’s total of 1517.
Total sexual offences in Victoria dropped slightly between 2025 and 2026, recording 685 fewer offences at the end of March 2026. At the same time, unsolved cases spiked, arrests fell, and fewer complaints were withdrawn. An intent to summons, which indicates police intend to charge somebody but have not yet done so, more than doubled from 458 in 2025 to 1066 in 2026.
Sam was told the officer responsible for her complaint had been forced to take stress leave because she was burnt out by her caseload.
“Their workload should not be my problem. I said her, ‘What if this was your daughter, if this was your mother, this was your sister, a close friend? Would you accept that?’,” Sam said.
“The whole system has completely let me down, and it’s made me go. Why would I ever go to the police again,” she asked.
Arthur feels similarly: “If you want to hold a perpetrator accountable, you need to be a lawyer. You need to be your own detective. You need to be your own everything.
“You need to have everything written down and have zero trust that they’ll be able to actually do anything.”
Victoria Police did not respond to a question about staffing of their SOCIT units.
Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732) or the Men’s Referral Service on 1300 766 491.
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Carla Jaeger is a journalist for The Age. Got a tip? Email carla.jaeger@theage.com.au or message carlajaeger.62 on Signal.Connect via X or email.From our partners
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