Veteran Vagrant The Real Victim

By Georgie Jeffreys on July 27, 2011 in News

For most, he was a local icon, a Bondi mascot and, at the very least, a novel conversation starter; the patron saint of Aussie squatters with his makeshift home-come-cubbyhouse nestled within the bosom of Bondi’s sprawling cliff face. Peter James Paul Millhouse, better known as Jhiymy ‘Two Hats’ Mhiyles, was argued by some to be a bit of a nutter, adored by many for his quirkiness and envied by all for his million dollar views.

Unfortunately, his place as a local favourite was unexpectedly shattered late in 2009 – along with his near decade-long residency atop Bondi’s beachside cliff – when he was charged with the sexual assault of a 21 year-old woman. His ‘home’, deemed an illegal set up, was subsequently dismantled by Waverley Council and he was left to fight the charges with little support.

However, in a classic twist akin to that of the boy who cried wolf, it seems the woman who made the claims against the veteran vagrant has quite the penchant for outlandish accusations, and earlier this year the DPP was consequently forced to drop the sexual assault charges.

A police background check eventually revealed that, since age 14, the woman made numerous unsubstantiated reports of rape and sexual abuse, all of which were dismissed due to ‘insufficient evidence’. In 2002, she claimed to have been dragged into bushland and sexually assaulted by a group of strangers, one of whom was said to be the devil; in 2006, she alleged that she was raped by an African immigrant who promised to rid her of demons; in 2003, the woman reported another five incidences of rape; and early last year, police found her unconscious in her car, clutching a lamb’s heart and a pair of kitchen scissors.

All in all it seems that poor Jhiymy’s been more than just a little hard done by. He’s been kicked from his cave, incarcerated for more than 18 months for a crime he didn’t commit and is still facing charges for resisting arrest. And to think, all of this could have been potentially avoided if only the police had run a background check at the time the allegations were made.