A man who was acquitted over the Russell Street bombing has faced court over allegations of raping a woman the night before the infamous attack on police.
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The alleged victim was inside the Russell Street police complex when the bomb exploded hours after the attack, a court has heard.
Peter Komiazyk was charged on Thursday after his bombing co-accused, Craig Minogue, was charged earlier with abducting and raping two young women in 1985 and 1986.
The second attack was on the eve of the infamous bombing, on March 27, 1986 that killed police officer Constable Angela Taylor, 21, and injured 22 others.
Both men have been charged with 38 offences, including abduction by force and aggravated rape.
Mr Komiazyk, 61, appeared in the dock bloodied and bruised wearing a ripped T-shirt about 7.20pm on Thursday and applied for bail.
Police allege that on November 22, 1985, the first victim was selling flowers on Chapel Street, South Yarra, before being forced into a vehicle and taken to an address where she was repeatedly raped by at least three men.
She was dumped on Yarra Boulevard in Richmond about 1am the following day.
Police made a fresh call for information a month ago, offering a $350,000 reward.
Investigators believe the rape is linked to a second attack on a 19-year-old woman in Nunawading a year later.
The second attack took place about 9.30pm on March 26, 1986. The teenager was walking along the footpath on Ashwood Drive.
The woman was on the way to her boyfriend's parents' house when she was dragged off the street, thrown in a car, bound and gagged and taken to an unknown property where she was raped before being dumped under a parked car at Ringwood.
Both women were allegedly showered after the attacks and dropped on nearby streets.
The court heard police allege the second victim was inside the police complex the next day when a bomb hidden inside a Commodore parked outside the main police headquarters exploded, sending debris flying across Russell Street.
The first victim died in 2008.
Mr Komiazyk was silent throughout his bail application and appeared heavily sedated.
The court heard he was arrested earlier on Thursday by officers from the Special Operations Group outside his psychologist's office in Kalorama.
Detective Senior Constable Tony Benham told the court that a DNA match came to light in 2017, prompting the reopening of the case. Mr Komiazyk had been under surveillance ever since, the court heard.
Police allege Craig Minogue, 56, is the co-accused in both sex attacks.
Police also alleged that a third man, Stanley Brian Taylor, who was jailed over the bombing, was also involved in the 1986 attack but had since died in prison.
Police are still searching for a fourth man, believed to be the driver involved in the second attack.
Lawyer Steven Pica raised concerns over the way his client was arrested, telling the hearing his car windows were broken and vehicle rammed before he was taken into custody.
He said his client lived on a disability pension and should be granted bail as he was the sole carer of his 13-year-old son.
"The matter is going to be objected," he said.
Magistrate Barry Schultz refused bail, labelling the allegations as being "some of the most serious examples of sexual offending the courts encounter ... groups of men subjecting women to indignities from which they would never recover," Mr Schultz said.
Mr Komiazyk was remanded to reappear in court on May 24. Mr Minogue will return to Melbourne Magistrates Court on June 14.
Earlier on Thursday, Detective Inspector Steve Wilson from the Sexual Crimes Squad thanked the public for its assistance and acknowledged the victims of the attacks, as well as their families.
''Waiting for over 30 years for this to occur is something quite significant for them,'' he said.
''I'm quite sure they would have never expected us to be knocking on their door and informing them of what this outcome is.''
- SMH/The Age
