Tunser Salih has been convicted of raping young women in a horror nightclub

A man from Melbourne raped two women in a nightclub restroom and told them about his dead daughter in a horrific attack.

Tunser Salih was found guilty of two counts of rape after a trial in Victoria District Court and was sentenced to 16 years on Tuesday.

The 45-year-old woman followed the women to the women’s bathrooms at the Clique nightclub and climbed to the top of their closed booth in the early hours of February 2, 2019.

One of the two women in the booth tried to push Salih away, but he overpowered her and told her to “shut up” as she struggled with him. He also talked about his dead daughter as he forced himself to her.

This victim watched in horror as he raped her friend, who lost consciousness in the toilet before she was able to escape and gain safety.

“Your predatory attacks on two vulnerable women in the women’s restroom of a busy city nightclub in the morning were motivated to satisfy a desire for sexual pleasure,” Judge Douglas Trapnell said.

“These are really horrible crimes.”

A club security guard came in and insisted on opening the cabin door, where he saw Mr. Salih’s pants down and a woman sitting on the floor, he told police.

The guard told police that earlier in the evening Mr. Salih had tried to give him money to allow him to take the woman to the bathroom, which he refused.

One of his victims told the court in disturbing statements what impact her crime had.

“I believe that I am constantly going through the night from the point of view of a third person, trying to make out the points,” she said earlier in court.

She survived the retrospective and found the judicial experience difficult.

“I am personally horrified by the day he finishes his sentence,” she said.

Salih fought the charges in court, but was later found guilty on both counts.

The judge found that his prospects for rehabilitation were problematic because of similar crimes, including rapes in the past.

He took into account the delay in moving the case to court and the impact of Covid-19 on prison conditions.

Salih must spend at least 12 years in prison before he is eligible for parole.