Two women bashed unconscious
The Sydney Morning Herald
Stephen Ryan
June 17,2015
The Medowie home where the man attacked two women last year. Photo: Brock Perks
The man who viciously attacked two women in a Newcastle property may have strapped his knuckles like a boxer and wrapped three metres of electrical tape around the face and neck of one of his victims, Newcastle District Court has heard.
Adam John Medcalf, 33, previously pleaded guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent and aggravated break and enter, but he was acquitted on Tuesday of indecently assaulting one of the victims.
Medcalf may have been planning the attack for months before he selected two 21-year-old women who were cleaning a vacant property at Medowie, north of Newcastle, on February 5 last year.
Adam John Medcalf has been acquitted of indecently assaulting one of the victims. Photo: Supplied
He was seen to peer over a fence and may have even thrown a tennis ball onto the roof of the house so he could then approach the women to retrieve it.
What happened next remains unclear as both women were knocked unconscious and subjected to violence that Judge Helen Syme described as "vicious" and "extreme".
One of the victims awoke covered in blood with three metres of electrical tape wrapped around her head from below her nose to her throat.
She suffered a broken jaw while the other victim was also injured.
The underwear of one of the victims was ripped, but Judge Syme ruled there was no evidence of a sexual assault and insufficient evidence to prove a charge of indecent assault.
Crown prosecutor Brendan Queenan said Medcalf may have used cotton tape that was found at the scene to wrap one of his fists to protect his knuckles for when he delivered a barrage of punches to one of the women.
When police arrested Medcalf two days later, he declined the offer of having his swollen wrist X-rayed and said he'd injured it at the gym.
Police also obtained evidence that Medcalf used his mobile phone to monitor news websites to see what was being reported about the attack and that he also visited numerous pornography websites.
He also conducted an online search several months before the attack to acquire information about how to knock someone out without the use of drugs.
Medcalf will be sentenced in August.
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