Karl Bacash, 60, was in March found guilty by a County Court jury of two counts of rape and one charge of sexual assault against a 27-year-old woman.
Bacash picked up the woman from a Richmond pub in the early hours of April 9, 2017, after she had spent hours drinking with friends.
He began driving towards her home in Melbourne's southeast but pulled over near the Princes Highway while she was unconscious and removed her underwear.
The woman woke to Bacash raping and sexually assaulting her in the front seat of his car.
Bacash then saved her phone number by calling his mobile from her phone before driving the victim home.
She asked Bacash if he was a rideshare or taxi driver, which he denied.
The woman reported the incident to friends, her mother and a doctor, showing them the bruises on her inner thighs and disclosing the pain in her groin.
Bacash also sent the woman texts and tried to call her in the weeks after the attack.
The woman filed a complaint with police in January 2019 and Bacash was arrested and interviewed in February 2020.
He told officers he regularly drove women home and "if things happen, they happen", claiming some female passengers became "touchy-feely" so he had consensual sex with them.
Bacash also claimed he did not remember the victim although he did not deny driving her home.
The jury in March convicted Bacash over the 2017 rape, and he pleaded guilty to separate offences of possessing a drug of dependence and handling stolen goods.
Bacash was originally charged over another two rapes but he was found not guilty of one and the charges against the second were discontinued.
In sentencing Bacash on Tuesday, County Court Judge Martine Marich found the 2017 attack was somewhat spontaneous but also predatory.
"Her state of intoxication would have been readily apparent," the judge said.
"She was isolated and vulnerable as a result of her state."
The woman now suffers post-traumatic stress disorder and is unable to form relationships with men.
"While (the offending was) relatively brief, it's left a legacy of trauma," Judge Marish said.
She noted Bacash continues to deny the offending and is refusing to partake in sex offence rehabilitation programs in custody.
But Judge Marich said she placed less weight on specific deterrence and the protection of the community when considering his sentence.
The judge accepted Bacash was the carer of his elderly mother and being in custody was more difficult for him due to their separation.
He also had no prior convictions and the support of his family and friends.
Judge Marich sentenced Bacash to seven years' jail but he will be eligible for parole after four years and 10 months.
She did not place him on the sex offenders register.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
32°C