Self-proclaimed ‘healer’ and convicted rapist Joseph Luke Williams fights to clear his name, applies for bail

An award-winning Aboriginal tour operator jailed for more than a decade for sexually assaulting six vulnerable women under the guise of ancient healing rituals is fighting to clear his name — and he wants to be let out on bail in the meantime. Self-proclaimed Denmark “healer” Joseph Luke Williams, 59, was jailed for 12 years in May after a jury found him guilty of 11 counts of sexual penetration without consent and one count of indecent assault. But Williams — who maintained his innocence during an 11-day trial in Albany — has lodged an appeal against his conviction in WA’s highest court. A Supreme Court appeal notice filed in May states Williams’ draft grounds of appeal are that “the verdicts are unreasonable and not supported by the evidence”. Yesterday, Williams fronted the Supreme Court and applied for bail pending the outcome of the appeal, with Court of Appeal president Justice Michael Buss reserving his decision to a later date. In sentencing Williams on May 3, District Court Judge Christopher Stevenson said the disgraced tour operator had “preyed on vulnerable women who were seeking solace”. The victims, aged between 18 and 34, had sought Williams’ help with personal problems such as fertility issues, trauma and grief. Instead, it was alleged Williams raped or molested six women between 2010 and 2014 in Denmark, Stirling Range National Park, Perth and Broome. The State won its case proving Williams abused his cultural knowledge, manipulating the six women for his own sexual gratification. Some of the offences involved penetration by rocks which he claimed had healing powers. Williams’ defence lawyer Bruno Illari argued the sexual acts were either consensual, did not happen in the way the women claimed, or did not happen at all. Among the prosecution witnesses were respected female Noongar elders who told the court the sexual acts were not traditional Noongar cultural practice, with one labelling them “disgusting”. Judge Stevenson said a psychological report prepared before his sentence showed the former Poornarti Aboriginal Tours operator had not shown remorse or a full understanding of how serious his crimes were. The report said Williams was a “self-confident” man who believed he was a victim of the court process and that the victims had conspired against him. As Williams shook his head as he received his sentence, Judge Stevenson described the case as “overwhelming” with “compelling” evidence from the victims. “It was significant serious sexual abuse aggravated for reasons from the State which include personal vulnerability, age disparity ... the victims were Caucasian which limited their exposure and experience to traditional Aboriginal ways, making them a target,” he said. “There was a degree of calculation, planning and similarity in grooming behaviour.”