A 26-year-old man was yesterday charged with sexually assaulting two women while armed with a machete, intending to cause them serious bodily harm and stealing the car of one of the women.

The defendant, who cannot be named for legal reasons and is of no fixed abode, was charged with a total of eight indictable offences in Magistrates? Court in connection with the incident last Thursday morning.

He was not required to plead to the charges because his case will be heard in Supreme Court.

The charges were:

Two counts of unlawfully entering the homes of two women;

Two counts of assaulting the women with the intent of causing them grievous bodily harm;

One count of serious sexual assault with a machete for allegedly forcing one woman to perform oral sex;

One count of sexual assault, also with a machete, for allegedly touching the genitals of the second woman;

One count of robbery for allegedly stealing the car of one of the women as well as her handbag and a number of other valuables; and

One count of unlawfully assaulting one of the women.

He also pleaded not guilty to non-indictable charges for assaulting two men on the night before the alleged sexual assaults and alleged carjacking. He will be tried in Magistrates? Court on those charges on June 30.

The man, who stood quietly while the charges were read out, was remanded in custody until the end of the month when he will return to court for mention.