Nurse Arjun Kandel was found guilty of raping and indecently assaulting a mentally challenged client

An Adelaide disability worker found guilty of raping a woman with an intellectual disability has been allowed to stay in the community after a judge granted him permission to “sort out his affairs” before being detained.

On Tuesday, 45-year-old Arjun Kandel of Salisbury was found guilty of rape and aggravated indecent assault by District Judge Liesl Kudelka, who presided over the trial without a jury.

Kandel was accused of sexually abusing one woman in the nursing home’s guest apartment and a second woman after the victim had finished showering.

Judge Kudelka found Kandel not guilty of grievous bodily harm to the first alleged victim, but guilty of rape and grievous bodily harm to the second victim.

“I do not believe (the first alleged victim) is lying or making things up. I am convinced there was indecent behavior, but I am not sure what kind,” Judge Kudelka said.

“Under these circumstances, I find the defendant not guilty (of this charge).”

However, Judge Kudelka said she was satisfied that Kandel knew that the second victim – who described the rape in her statement – was not consenting.

“When it happened, neither of them spoke,” Judge Kudelka said.

“(The second victim) said in the interview that what happened was ‘a bad thing.’

“(Kandel) knew she lived at the facility. As her responsible carer that day, he must have been aware of the level of care she required and the reason for that level of care, namely that she had very limited mental capacity.”

Prosecutor Lisa Dunlop said during the trial that in August 2020, Kandel was called to work in a shared home with three women, all of whom were living with intellectual disabilities.

She told the court that the carer who took over from Kandel noticed that the washing machine was left on at night and that the women’s behavior changed.

Ms Dunlop said the replacement nurse asked Kandel what had happened and, in relation to the second victim, he replied there had been an “accident on the bed”.

Kandel has to “hand in his passport”

Today, Judge Kudelka accepted defense attorney Andrew Culshaw’s request to continue Kandel’s release on bail to “regulate his affairs.”

“He has limited support in the community,” Mr Culshaw said.

“He is currently living in a shared apartment, he needs to pack and get a power of attorney.”

Judge Kudelka gave Kandel four weeks to do so before he turned himself in to the authorities.

She also amended Kandel’s bail to require him to report to Elizabeth Police Station by 5pm every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for the four weeks.

The matter will be heard again in court in June before a verdict is made in July.