Subscribe to Archivestuff Have your say A New Zealand-born actor has been jailed indefinitely for raping three Adelaide women, with a judge finding he cannot control his sexual urges. Benjamin William Ainsworth, 31, was today sentenced in the South Australian Supreme Court for random sex attacks on the women at knifepoint in Adelaide between July 2000 and October 2003. Ainsworth confessed to raping the women after he was arrested at gunpoint by US marshals in Los Angeles in December 2004.
The court heard he was in America hoping to embark on an acting career, aspiring to become the next Arnold Schwarzenegger after a small walk-on role in the Australian drama McLeod's Daughters. But today he was sentenced to indefinite jail after pleading guilty to two counts of rape and one count each of aggravated serious criminal trespass, assault with intent to rape and false imprisonment. Ainsworth also confessed to three counts of unlawful sexual intercourse with a 14-year-old girl who he met through an internet chat room.
In sentencing, Judge Margaret Nyland said Ainsworth's behaviour was predatory and had escalated after each attack. The court heard during one of the attacks, he used duct tape to bind the mouth and head of his victim, an international student who he followed back to her hostel. "Each of these three young women was a stranger who was attacked by you in a place where she was entitled to feel safe," Judge Nyland told the court.
Psychiatric reports said the actor had a psychological disfunction with narcissistic personality traits and held strong misogynistic views. Judge Nyland sentenced Ainsworth to 15 years' jail but granted an order for him to be held indefinitely when the term expired for the protection of the community. "I am satisfied there is a significant risk that you would, if given an opportunity to commit a relevant offence, fail to exercise control of your sexual instincts," she said.
She said the detention order could be revoked and a non-parole period given if Ainsworth could convince authorities he was no longer a threat to public safety.
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