A man who drove a passed-out woman from Wodonga to a popular Beechworth tourist spot and raped her has been jailed for more than six years. Matthew Carey, 47, learnt his fate at Wodonga County Court last Wednesday, following a late guilty plea which called off an initially listed trial. His victim shared the “dreadful” ongoing impacts of his crime with the court in a heartfelt statement, saying her life had changed in many ways following the 8 December, 2023 incident. “Since then I’ve woken up in the middle of the night drenched in sweat, shaking and terrified, I have nightmares that feel so real I can’t tell if they are memories of what actually happened or my mind trying to make sense of it all,” she said. “I have felt unlovable, hopeless, numb, angry and confused. “His actions didn’t just hurt me physically, he shattered my confidence, my peace and my faith in people.” The court heard on the night of the incident Carey was asked by a mutual friend to assist her in caring for the victim and taking her home after a night drinking and taking drugs in Wodonga. Carey picked up the two women and a third woman on the way to take them all to their mutual friend’s home. They arrived with the victim slumped over sleeping. Carey told the other women he had to go to his home, and he would “be back in five”. With the unconscious victim still in the car, he drove 40km to Beechworth and Lake Sambell where he parked the car, removed the woman’s pants and raped her. The victim only became aware of what was happening when she felt the pain, reacting in “utter shock”, not knowing where she was or who she was with. She got back into his car and the pair drove back to Wodonga, with the victim borrowing Carey’s phone to contact her friends. As they arrived back at the mutual friend’s home, the two women attacked his car with a spanner and an iron bar and he drove off as the victim got out. She sent a text to Carey making it clear she had been raped. The next day, Carey went to police and told them about the damage to his car and made them wary of a potential “false allegation of rape” which could be made. Judge Gerard Mullaly said Carey's efforts in attempting to “poison the well” and getting in first with police did him no favours. In her statement to the court, the victim said her fear and confusion following the incident had never left and she had carried deep shame for something she didn’t do. “Despite everything I’m still here… what he did will never define me but it has left a scar that will never fade,” she said. The court heard Carey battled an ongoing drug addiction and he had served multiple stints behind bars throughout a “concerning” criminal history. Judge Mullaly imposed a six year and six-month prison sentence, with four years and four months non-parole. “What you did was comprehensively exploit the victim’s vulnerability and breach the trust that was put in you to do the right thing,” he said. “You had the chance to reconsider but you went ahead and did so selfishly for your own gratification.” The court heard Carey had served 313 days prior to the sentence.
