A Malaysian airline pilot has been found guilty of repeatedly raping a woman at knifepoint after he broke into her Perth home 21 years ago.

Alfred Gerard Eravelly, now 50, broke into the victim’s Scarborough home in the early hours of March 9, 1996 by cutting the fly screen on her en suite bathroom window.

Wearing a stocking over his head, he tied her up and sexually assaulted her, leaving behind DNA that was later analysed and led to his arrest.

He was charged with five counts of aggravated sexual penetration without consent and one count each of burglary, unlawful detention and unlawful wounding after he flew back to Australia from Malaysia in February last year.

Prosecutor Sean Dworcan told the court during his opening address last week that Eravelly lived less than 2km away from the woman at the time of the offences, when he was a cash-strapped aviation student.

He later returned to Malaysia where he became an AirAsia pilot.
Eravelly was arrested moments after he returned to Australia, arriving in Sydney 20 years after the offences, and was swiftly extradited to Perth.

Mr Dworcan said Eravelly told detectives following his initial interview he wanted to tell them what happened but not on video tape.

He claimed to have dated the woman and tied her up as part of kinky, consensual sex, Mr Dworcan said, but also said he had been a peeping Tom and seen her through a window.