Serial rapist back behind bars after attacking schoolgirl inside pharmacy
WARNING: Graphic content.
A notorious serial rapist is back in jail after sexually touching a schoolgirl and grabbing her up her skirt at a Sydney pharmacy.
Graham James Kay, also known as the “North Coast Rapist” and jailed for a string of rapes of women and girls in the 1990s, was sentenced in Sydney’s Downing Center District Court on Friday afternoon.
The 74-year-old man was arrested in February 2025 when he put his hand up a schoolgirl’s skirt in front of his friend at the George St store before the girls raised the alarm with staff.
Kay admitted a number of offenses, including sexually touching another person without consent.
He also pleaded guilty to four charges of failing to comply with an extended supervision order he was on after being released from prison.
According to court documents, Kay approached the girl as she was leaving the store and placed his left hand on the girl’s school uniform.
The 16-year-old boy was in the store with a friend at the time, and security cameras caught Kay following them through the aisles.
After finishing paying for the items, Kay sexually touched the girl without her consent.
The girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told Kay “don’t touch me,” according to court documents.
Then the girl’s friend said: “Don’t touch, my friend. Take that man in the turquoise shirt, he just touched my friend. Can someone do something?”
Her friend stood in front of Kay to stop her from leaving, but she pushed past him.
A security guard followed him and brought Kay back to the store, where his ID photo was taken.
Kay later told the guard that he wanted to apologize to the girl.
“I want to talk to that young girl, I want to apologize to her. I just passed her, it was an accident,” he said, according to court documents.
The victim said, “I don’t want to talk to you” and withdrew.
As the security guard pulled Kay away, Kay said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t do anything. I just walked by.”
Kay was arrested at the Blacktown unit in the early hours of the next day.
On Friday, Judge Sharon Harris sentenced Kay to four years and six months in prison.
He will be eligible for parole for the first time in February 2028 after serving three years in prison.
Kay was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2000 for a series of horrific sexual assaults on young women and girls.
In the attacks, which took place in 1995 and 1996, he held his victims at knifepoint, gagged them and tied their hands.
He was released on parole in February 2015, but breached an extended supervision order in April 2018 when he failed to disclose an intimate relationship.
Later that month, he was offended again when a 16-year-old woman kissed a supermarket worker.
He was convicted and sentenced to 15 months probation to serve the community.
Later in January 2022, Kay was arrested again after he stalked a young woman and attacked her at her apartment complex.
He was sentenced to two years in prison for sexual touching without consent and stalking/intimidation with intent to create fear of physical harm.
He was released in September 2023.
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