Joel Nathan Fitzpatrick Burtt: Rapist jailed for 'extremely frightening' hotel attack in NSW

WARNING: Confronting content

A man has been jailed for violently raping a woman in a luxury hotel after trying to discredit her as an attention-seeker and telling her she was “getting what she deserved”.

A judge did not believe Joel Nathan Fitzpatrick Burtt was genuinely remorseful despite his lawyer submitting the man was distressed while the woman recounted what happened to her in her evidence at his trial.

Instead, he continued trying to minimise his offending and appeared to believe he was found guilty by a jury due to increased community awareness and discussion of violence against women, Judge Sarah Huggett said.

Fitzpatrick Burtt, who turns 23 on the weekend, was jailed for at least five years and six months in the NSW District Court on Friday.

He was found guilty in August of multiple counts of sexual intercourse without consent, aggravated sexual assault and choking.

He pleaded guilty to another assault offence, but provided a very different narrative of what occurred, leading to a “significant dispute” that was not resolved in his favour.

Judge Huggett said she had no doubt Fitzpatrick Burtt knew the woman was not voluntarily consenting but had been overcome by fear during the “extremely frightening” ordeal in a room on level 11 of Sydney’s The Star hotel in October 2022.

“To the extent the victim acquiesced, that was a result of the earlier violence and her genuine fear the offender would continue to hurt her,” the judge said.

“The circumstances … would have been extremely frightening - particularly when the offender told the victim she was ‘getting what she deserved’.”

Fitzpatrick Burtt grabbed the woman by the neck and forcibly held her down after the pair went to the hotel room to retrieve her belongings before a party.

Following multiple sexual assaults, he kicked the woman in the face after she started crying.

He put his pants back on when an ice bucket was delivered to the room before pouring it over the woman as she lay on the floor and dragging her across the room by her hair.

Witnesses heard screams from next door.

Judge Huggett said Fitzpatrick Burtt was still attempting to discredit the woman he raped, describing her as attention-seeking.

“(Fitzpatrick Burtt’s) continued denial of the true nature of his offending is concerning,” she said.

“The best that can currently be said is that his prospects of rehabilitation are guarded.”

Fitzpatrick Burtt will be eligible for release on parole in June 2029 before his full 10-year sentence expires at the end of 2033.

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National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028

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