Woman jumps from car to escape alleged sexual assault

A woman had to jump from a moving car to escape a man who had detained her for several hours and sexually assaulted her, a court has been told.

Paul Kelaita, 48, was arrested in dramatic circumstances in Sydney’s east last year when he allegedly led police on an hour-long foot chase that ended when he was cornered on a rooftop.

He appeared in the Supreme Court in Sydney on Wednesday and made an unsuccessful application to be released on bail.

He was arrested in November after police approached him on Roscoe St in Bondi as they sought him in relation to alleged sex offences against a woman on the Central Coast.

Mr Kelaita allegedly fled on foot from officers, sparking a massive manhunt involving a police helicopter.

He was ultimately arrested by police about an hour later on the roof of a home on Curlewis St and was dragged away wearing maroon rugby shorts.

At the time he was wanted for alleged sexual offences committed earlier that year.

The court was told that Mr Kelaita was alleged to have become obsessed with a woman before detaining her for several hours.

He is alleged to have sexually assaulted her and engaged in non-consensual sexual touching, the court was told.

It’s further alleged he took control of her car that led to her jumping from the vehicle to make her escape.

“It’s alleged that his conduct required her to jump from a moving vehicle whereby she suffered some injury,” Justice Belinda Rigg said on Wednesday.

Mr Kelaita is charged with four counts of aggravated sexual assault while depriving liberty and eight counts of stalking and intimidation.

He further faces three counts of sexual touching without consent, one of inciting another person to touch them without consent, and negligent driving.

He separately faces a charge of common assault, and three counts of entering a building to commit an indictable offence and entering enclosed lands.

He has been in custody, on remand, since his arrest, and the court was told that he had several bruises on his face after being involved in a fight in custody.

“I was just defending myself,” Mr Kelaita announced to the court as he watched proceedings via videolink from prison.

The court was told he had been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder by a psychologist.

However, Justice Rigg said the report provided to the court was of “such poor quality that the court was not able to understand how the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder” had been made.

Mr Kelaita proposed to be released on bail on conditions including electronic monitoring and home detention.

However, Justice Rigg said there were concerns for the safety of the alleged victim and the community as well as the risk of non-appearance and interfering with witnesses.

“Bail is accordingly refused,” she said.

Mr Kelaita will appear in Gosford Local Court on Thursday.