Two brothers who raped Canberra sex workers have each been sentenced to about eight years in jail.

Mohammed al-Abbasi, 22, and Khaled al-Abbasi, 32, both pleaded guilty to a series of charges including sexual assault and aggravated robbery.

The court heard evidence of two separate incidents.

On the first occasion, Khaled al-Abbasi booked a sex worker for a massage and sexual services, but when he arrived with his brother and another man the woman tried to stop them entering the apartment.

The court heard she stopped attempting to fight them off when she saw Khaled al-Abbasi had a knife.

Another woman hiding in the apartment called for help via text message, before being discovered and sexually assaulted herself.

The men fled when two people, who had been alerted by the woman's messages, arrived.

Attacks planned, violent and 'disgraceful'

A few weeks later the brothers were under pressure from a drug dealer to whom they owed money.

Khaled al-Abbasi booked another sex worker, this time armed with a box cutter, with the intention of robbing her.

When the woman had no money he raped her.

In a statement, the court heard of the devastating effect the incident had on her life through the loss of privacy and intense fear.

"I was utterly convinced I was going to die," she told the court.

Justice David Mossop noted Mohammed al-Abbasi had already been sentenced to jail for another rape.

He said the behaviour showed an attitude to sexual violence that should be denounced.

"Each offence shows a degree of planning [by] targeting vulnerable women who were thought to be alone at the time," he said.

"Both incidents are examples of thoroughly disgraceful conduct."

Justice Mossop noted the men had gone to police after the first attack, saying they had been ripped off by two Asian sex workers. They were arrested, released and later charged over the sexual assaults.

Mohammed al-Abbasi has been sentenced to seven years and eleven months in jail, with a non-parole period of five years and six months, which will run out in December 2021.

Khaled al-Abbasi has been sentenced to eight years and one month, with a non-parole period of five years and eight months and will not be eligible for parole until 2022.