A juror on the Australian rape case of two Pakistani brothers has spoken of his admiration for the strength of the victim

Daily Telegraph:

The victim of brothers MSK and MAK was in court yesterday to give her own message to the men who ruined her life.

With a raised middle finger, Tegan Wagner said: "See ya, guys. Have a nice life. Enjoy prison."

As the brothers were being taken from the Sydney courtroom to the cells below, MSK mouthed the words "I'm sorry."

Ms Wagner, 18, replied: "F...you mate, go to hell."

The men raped Ms Wagner, then 14, in 2002 after plying her with alcohol.

Today, the juror sent an e-mail to the Daily Telegraph website speaking of his admiration fro Ms Wagner.

"I was a juror on the tegan Wagner case last year, " he wrote.

I am delighted that their sentences have been extended.

"And I am filled with admiration for Tegan for a her strong and consistent attitude.

"Justice has finally been served. I hope they have a life of hell in prison.

"They deserve some pay back."

Yesterday MSK had his sentence increased by five and-a-half years, making him elegible for parole in 2024 and MAK received two more years, with parole eligibility in 2016.

For Ms Wagner, her gesture brought as much closure as the jail sentences just handed down, which will keep her main attacker behind bars until 2024.

"I shouted a few profanities and things I've been waiting to say to them for four years . . . and today was my chance," Ms Wagner said outside court after the brothers' sentencing hearing.

"I feel great it's finally over, that they're going to be behind bars."

Ms Wagner was just 14 when she was raped by the Pakistani brothers after being plied with alcohol at their Ashfield home in June 2002. She had gone there with friends who knew the pair, but she had never met them before that night.

MSK, 27, and MAK, 26, are currently serving long sentences for the rapes of two other girls. Yesterday, Justice Peter Hidden extended their time behind bars for their attacks on Ms Wagner and, in the case of MSK, the rape of a 13-year-old girl a month later.

MSK will now spend an additional 5½ years in jail, becoming eligible for parole in 2024. MAK received an additional minimum term of two years, with parole eligibility in 2016.

Justice Hidden yesterday rejected claims by MSK that the rapes occurred because of his cultural background.

In evidence to the court, MSK claimed women were perceived differently in the small, fiercely Muslim Pakistan village where he grew up and that Australian women were considered morally loose.

"The effect of his evidence was, he saw both victims as promiscuous and believed they had no right to repel his sexual advances," the judge said.

"(But) he must have had sufficient exposure to the Australian way of life to be aware the place occupied by women in the traditional culture of his area of origin is far removed from our social norms."

Ms Wagner yesterday urged all sexual assault victims to come forward to ensure their attackers paid for their crimes.

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