Detectives have charged a 69-year-old man in Melbourne's west over sexual assaults of an elderly woman dating back more than four decades, after a renewed public appeal.
Jessie Grace Lauder was sexually assaulted in 1981 and again in 1983 by a man who broke into her Newport home in Melbourne's inner west.She was aged in her 80s at the time and her attacker was never caught.
Ms Lauder died in 1993.
Police, along with Ms Lauder's grandson Malcolm Lauder, launched a fresh appeal for information on the attacks 10 days ago.
Early Friday afternoon, police announced they had arrested a Hoppers Crossing man that morning in Wyndham Vale. Shortly after, police said they had charged him with multiple offences.
He is due to face the Melbourne Magistrates' Court late Friday afternoon accused of two counts of attempted aggravated rape, aggravated burglary, aggravated indecent assault, rape, burglary and common assault.
"Though Jessie is sadly no longer with us, this is a momentous day for her family, and in particular, her grandson, Malcolm," Detective Inspector Mark Burnett from the Sexual Crime Squad said.
He said the man's arrest in Wyndham Vale on Friday morning was the result of determination and perseverance by officers, many of whom had moved to different policing units over the years.
"I would like to thank each and every member for their assistance," Detective Inspector Burnett said.
"If you have experienced sexual violence or abuse, even decades ago, police will listen and we will investigate."
Alleged assaults happened two years apart
Police said Ms Lauder was 82 years old and lived alone in Mason Street, Newport, in Melbourne's inner-west, when she was attacked the first time.
She had lived at the property for 55 years and was widowed in 1977.
On Tuesday, September 22, 1981, police said Ms Lauder was in bed when a man forced entry through a back door at about 10pm.
He entered the bedroom armed with a knife and then took her to another room and sexually assaulted her.
Police say he then looked through Ms Lauder's purse before leaving the property by climbing over the back fence.
The same man is alleged to have returned almost two years later on July 6, 1983.
This time Ms Lauder was in the lounge room getting ready for bed about 9pm when the man broke into her home through the front door.
Police say he sexually assaulted her again.
During the second incident, the man referred to the earlier offence in 1981 and warned Ms Lauder not to call police.
In both incidents, police say the man concealed his identity with items over his face. He was described at the time as between 20 and 30 years old, with a fair complexion, dark hair, about 175-centimetres tall and having an Australian accent.
Grandson fronted fresh police appeal
On January 14 this month when Ms Lauder's grandson Malcolm Lauder renewed calls for information alongside police, he described her as a stoic and independent woman who had lived through two world wars and raised two sons during The Great Depression.
Mr Lauder became emotional as he described how the attacks forced his grandmother to leave her home to live with his family.
"She was five-foot-nothing, my grandmother, five-foot-nothing, and someone has gone into the sanctuary of her own home, not once but twice — somewhere she should be the most protected that she should ever feel," Mr Lauder said.
