Copyright news
A man told a woman he was going to “find her” after holding her hostage and raping her during a terrifying three-hour ordeal which she escaped by jumping from a moving car, court documents have revealed. Paul Sargon Kelaita, 50, is set to be sentenced next year after pleading guilty to raping and kidnapping a sex worker in November 2023 before leading police on a dramatic chase through Sydney’s eastern suburbs. Kelaita had originally pleaded not guilty to the charges before dramatically changing his pleas halfway through his trial in the NSW District Court earlier this month. He pleaded guilty to ten of 15 charges over the ordeal, including three counts of aggravated sexual assault, two counts of sexual touching without consent, one count of taking someone with an intention to cause fear and two counts of intimidation. Court documents obtained by news.com.au detail how Kelaita hired the woman in October 2023 for a consensual encounter before he messaged the sex worker multiple times off different phones. “Why are you ignoring my other number? This is Paul,” he sent the sex worker. Later that week, Kelaita used a different phone to arrange to meet the woman at a hotel room in The Entrance, on the NSW Central Coast. The woman arrived to the room to find flower petals on the floor leading to the bed and a bunch of roses on the bed with a multi-coloured dress. Kelaita came out of the shower, with the woman realising who it was. She told him: “What you did is illegal and if you contact me again, I will call the police” before leaving the room. Horrifying three-hour ordeal Two weeks later, Kelaita used yet another phone number to arrange a meet up with the woman at a granny flat in Killarney Vale. The woman asked him to send ID, with Kelaita sending a license which was not his. The woman drove in her Land Rover to the granny flat on November 13, arriving and calling out “hello” into the entry way. Kelaita ran at the woman, grabbed her into a bear hug and pulled her inside while holding his hand over her mouth and nose. The woman screamed as he yelled: “Shut up, shut up, shut up.” After pulling her inside, Kelaita spent the next three hours raping the woman before brushing her hair and asking her to “watch TikToks” with him. Court documents state the victim asked Kelaita multiple times if she could leave. Throughout the ordeal he told her that he could “really f**king hurt” her and told her: “don’t make me hurt you”. At one point, the victim told him: “If you’re gonna kill me, just f**king kill me. I’m not playing your games anymore.” After about three hours, the victim managed to get to her phone and quickly ring triple-0, telling them her address. Kelaita then told the woman they had to leave, fearing someone was “coming”. “If you f**king scream I’m going to break your neck,” he told her. Kelaita made the woman drive them in her Land Rover before she managed to get out of the car while it was moving near Oaks Ave in Long Jetty. A witness saw the woman and called police. Terrifying texts after kidnapping Over the next week, Kelaita sent several Instagram messages from various Instagram accounts. At this stage, police were attempting to locate Kelaita with no success. On November 15, he sent “What a wild night lol” before sending “I’d rather die than hurt you” the next day. On November 18, Kelaita texted her saying: “Are you good? If you message me around once a month, I promise I won’t come looking for you” before telling her the next day: “Looks like you want me to find you.” On November 20, he asked: “What did you say to the cops?” before being arrested two days later. Wild arrest Court documents reveal how Kelaita was finally arrested on November 22 during a wild arrest which brought Sydney’s eastern suburbs to a stand still. Police received information that Kelaita was staying at the Adina Apartments in Bondi Beach. Detectives attended his room with Kelaita jumping off a second storey balcony. Multiple police units, a dog squad and pol air were brought in as he jumped a number of fences in Bondi before being arrested in a backyard. He will next appear in court in March 2026 ahead of his sentence.
