Minogue, who has served more than 30 years in jail, is charged with 38 offences relating to attacks on women in the 1980s

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Russell Street bomber Craig Minogue has faced a Melbourne court for the first time charged with abduction and rape.

The 57-year-old was charged in May with 38 offences, including abduction by force and aggravated rape, relating to two separate attacks on young women in the 1980s.

He is serving time for bombing the Russell Street Police Headquarters in 1986, killing Constable Angela Taylor and injuring 22 others.

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He appeared in Melbourne Magistrates Court on Friday by videolink from prison in a red tracksuit worn by high profile prisoners, sitting with his arms crossed throughout the short hearing.

Prosecutors indicated they’re seeking a forensic sample from Minogue, which was not opposed by his lawyer.

Another man, 61-year-old Peter Michael Komiazyk, has been charged with the same 38 offences. He was also convicted for his part in the bombing but later acquitted.

At a hearing for Komiazyk in May, it was revealed the 19-year-old alleged rape victim was inside the Russell Street police station reporting being assaulted at the time of the bombing.

Police allege both teens were abducted off streets in Melbourne’s South Yarra and Nunawading, taken to locations and repeatedly raped for hours by multiple people.

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The court heard one was taken to the then-home of Minogue in Nunawading where the alleged assault happened on March 26, 1986 – the day before the bombing.

The other girl was snatched and assaulted in 1985.

The court was told another man convicted over the Russell Street bombing, Stanley Brian Taylor, who is now dead, was also connected to one of the rapes.

Minogue has served more than 30 years in jail and legislation is in place to keep him behind bars indefinitely.

Both men are due to face a committal hearing on 13 September.