Melbourne: A 29-year-old Indian-origin man was today sentenced to two-year community correction service for tricking a woman into having sex with him by using a fake profile on an online dating website.
Deepak Dhankar had used a fake profile of a blond Caucasian man under a name "Jamie which he used to meet the victim to arrange a sexual tryst".
The father of three, Mr Dhankar, thought he would get more online dating profile hits pretending to be a blond Caucasian, according to media reports.
In October 2012, he started chatting and exchanging explicit photos with the victim and later met at her house where they had sex on the condition put by Mr Dhankar that she would close her eyes and never look at 'Jamie'.
The victim had told the court that when the two went to bathroom for a shower it was then she realised that he was not a blond-haired Caucasian.
Once the woman realised who she was actually with, she became fearful for her safety and that of her children, and decided to "play along" until he left her home.
Afterwards, she confronted him over the deception, at which Mr Dhankar pleaded with her not to report him to the police, the court heard.
The victim said she had been humiliated, angered, and saddened by the ordeal, which had also left her suffering anxiety and panic attacks.
The Judge Jane Patrick told the County Court that the deception occurred when the pair engaged in sexual acts, because the woman believed she was with "Jamie" at the time, and not with Mr Dhankar.
Dhankar had pleaded guilty to one count which carries a maximum penalty of five years in jail.
Judge Patrick told the accused that his offending was serious and that he chose "this extremely selfish, immature and inappropriate way" to deal with the relationship difficulties he had with his wife at the time.
Mr Dhankar was convicted and put on a two-year community corrections order, with conditions he perform 200 hours of unpaid community work, undergo mental-health assessment and participate in counselling.
Mr Dhankar migrated to Australia in 2003 and is now an Australian citizen.