A young woman who was raped by a man who advertised a room for rent says she had never felt more powerful and strong after staring her attacker in the face as he was sentenced to 6½ years' jail.
*Rose was one of two women who were raped by real estate agent Thomas Hofer, 49, at Glebe after responding to an advertisement he posted on the website flatmates.com.au.
![A woman (left) who was raped by a man who advertised for a flatmate has urged other victims to stand up to their attackers.](/web/20160927185657im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/n/z/e/p/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.grnz3w.png/1474844860434.jpg)
The 19-year-old has spoken for the first time in the hope that other victims of sexual assault will feel empowered to stand up to predators such as Hofer.
"I felt stronger than I ever had in my life to be honest," she told Fairfax Media.
![Real estate agent Thomas Hofer, 49, was sentenced to a minimum of six and half years' jail on Friday.](/web/20160927185657im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/n/z/d/t/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.grnz3w.png/1474844860434.jpg)
"Nobody asks to be raped. If it's happened, it's wrong and you need to stand up for yourself.
"Men that are like that don't stop, you won't be the last one. It's really important that we stand up and fight these predators."
On Friday, the NSW District Court heard how Hofer, who had a long history in real estate in Australia and the Middle East, had plied Rose with alcohol in October 2014.
They first had dinner at a Thai restaurant, then went to Little Guy bar in Glebe.
![Rapist Thomas Hofer lured his victims in through flatmates.com.au](/web/20160927185657im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/n/z/e/d/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.grnz3w.png/1474844860434.jpg)
When they went back to his house on Bridge Road, he offered Rose a mango cocktail in his bedroom.
Rose told him she did not want to have sex with him but he pinned her down on the bed, flipped her on her stomach and raped her.
![Karen Lindley from child protection agency Bravehearts hugs the victim after rapist Thomas Hofer was sentenced to jail.](/web/20160927185657im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/n/z/f/e/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.grnz3w.png/1474844860434.jpg)
He refused to get off her, despite her screaming out "stop".
Afterwards, Hofer walked her to the bus stop before sending her a text saying: "Goodnight dear, call me if you have any problems getting home dear."
Despite a jury finding Hofer guilty of eight counts of sexual assault against the two women, he maintains his innocence and claims it was all consensual.
After the attack, Rose said she contemplated suicide and turned to drugs and alcohol.
But with support from child protection group Bravehearts and NSW Police, she says she has turned her life around.
"[Going to court] put me in back in control," she said. "I took control of the situation and I made him see that it was wrong. He can't get way with doing that to people.
"It takes something from you, you are powerless, so you need to start working out ways and regain that control that you lost," she said. "I really think the best way to do that it is to stand up and fight."
Rose encouraged others to trust their instincts.
"Trust your instincts because, if you feel like something is wrong, then it probably is. When you don't trust yourself, things like that happen."
She and the other victim, who was a backpacker from the US, were both lured and raped within a 24-hour period, and Rose believed if she had not gone to police, Hofer would have done it again.
"They way he planned it … he did it twice and he told me he was meeting another girl the next night. It would have been three.
"I feel real sorry for him because he has evil in his eyes, there is no empathy. He thought he did nothing wrong. You can't do that kind of stuff and get away with it. It doesn't make you powerful, it makes you weak."
In handing down a minimum 6½ year jail term on Friday, Judge Peter Whitford noted the offending had "forethought and planning" and was "humiliating and traumatic" for the victims.
With time already served, Hofer will be eligible for parole in April 2021.