Judge says man who attacked pair at Salt Creek has not shown remorse and there are no reasonable prospects of rehabilitation

A judge has said a man who attacked two young backpackers in South Australia is “utterly depraved” and lacking any moral compass.

Roman Heinze has been jailed for at least 17 years for his “primitive” attack at on the pair at Salt Creek in 2014.

South Australian supreme court justice Trish Kelly warned that Heinze’s violent offending would likely have escalated had he not been caught. She said his conduct was that of an “enraged and somewhat primitive man” who had an obsession with violent sex and very serious anger management issues.

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Heinze was previously found guilty of six charges including indecent assault, aggravated kidnapping and endangering life in relation to the incidents at the remote beach on the SA Coorong in February last year. He also admitted a previous indecent assault on another backpacker in Adelaide in 2014 and breaching a bond in relation to a further assault on a fourth woman.

The 61-year-old met the Salt Creek victims through the Gumtree website, where the Brazilian and German women had sought a ride to Melbourne. He drove them to the isolated dunes and after setting up camp he first attacked the Brazilian woman, tying her up with rope before cutting her bikini off with a knife.

Kelly said Heinze then punched her in the head and spat on her in a bid to subdue and control the already terrified young woman. She said the sexual assault was “solely in pursuit of the gratification of your own perverted sexual fantasies and desires”.

With the German woman alerted by her travelling companion’s screams, Heinze then set upon her, hitting her repeatedly in the head with a hammer and ramming her with his 4WD in a separate attack which left her covered in blood.

The judge said that offending was “utterly depraved” and almost defied description.

“That is not the conduct of a civilised human being but an enraged and somewhat primitive man lacking any moral compass whatsoever,” Kelly told Heinze on Wednesday.

She said Heinze had not shown the slightest remorse or contrition for any of his criminal conduct and there were no reasonable prospects of rehabilitation.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Part of the crime scene at Salt Creek in South Australia. Photograph: Sa Police/AAP

“In fact, the totality of the evidence convinces me that, if undetected, your offending would have continued and quite probably escalated,” she said.

The attacks spanned several hours and the crimes against the two women defied any reasonable or rational explanation, the judge said.

“Your conduct as a whole on that day places your offending in a very serious category indeed,” she told the prisoner. “The only positive aspect in the time that you terrified these two young women is that both of them were courageous enough and intelligent enough to outwit and outsmart you at every step.”

Heinze was born in West Germany and came to Australia in 1959 with his parents and two older brothers. He was married twice and has five children, with whom he still maintains contact. During the trial, he was found to have had an escalating interest in internet sites showing violent rape and other kinds of sexual assault against women.

Kelly jailed Heinze for a total of 22 years and four months and set a non-parole period of 17 years.



The judge said the nature of how he met his victims called for yet another warning to young people who used the internet for travel or other social interaction. “Safety does not necessarily come in numbers,” she said.

Kelly also took a swipe at three off-duty police officers who were in the area at the time, while praising the men who went to the aid of the two backpackers.

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The men from Melbourne and a local roadhouse owner each played a role in rescuing the Brazilian and German women. At the same time, the judge mentioned the inaction of the three officers who were also in the area at the time of the offences on the remote beach in February last year.

“Fortunately there were some decent Australian men about the place that day,” Kelly said. “I’m not referring to the three off-duty police officers whose only apparent role in the drama unfolding on the beach around them that afternoon was apparently to drag a couple of eskies across the entrance to the beach and to carry on fishing.

“No, I’m not referring to them.”

Kelly also told Heinze that his conduct had effects on the wider community.

“Men who commit the kind of crimes you committed go a long way to destroying the community’s sense of security and safety,” she said. “In committing these crimes you’ve undermined yet again the reputation of this country as a safe, attractive and friendly destination for young backpackers from all over the world.

“And you’ve undermined for the whole community the ability to freely enjoy a beautiful wilderness area.”