Benn, now 31, of North Rothbury, was jailed for a maximum of 40 years, with a non-parole period of 30 years in Newcastle District Court in August 2018.

He had pleaded guilty to a four-year reign of terror; 33 offences, including 21 counts of rape, against 14 teenage girls and young women.

On social media and through text messages, Benn sought to present himself as a genuine guy, a decent bloke who just wanted to be friends in a world full of sex-crazed young men.

He was different, he told the women he met through Facebook, Tinder and Snapchat. He just wanted to hang out, go for a drive to a lookout, to chat, to watch the sunrise or to cuddle.

But once he got them alone, Benn quickly revealed his true self; a depraved and sadistic rapist, a relentless and unremorseful sex offender who treated women like animals and was so arrogant and confident he would get away with it that he always used his own name and rarely tried to cover his tracks.

"The treatment of the many victims was nothing short of despicable," Judge Roy Ellis said when sentencing Benn in August 2018.

"His conduct over the four-year period was evil."

When Benn was jailed for a maximum of 40 years, believed to be longest sentence that Judge Ellis, the experienced Chief Judge of Newcastle's District Court, has ordered during his time on the bench, there was a sense of relief among the victims that the man responsible for terrorising 14 women would be behind bars until he was at least 57.

But two weeks later, Benn's lawyers filed a notice of intention to appeal [NIA] against the severity of the jail term to the Court of Criminal Appeal, intending to claim that the jail term was "manifestly excessive".

Benn's lawyers were given six months, until February 28, 2019, to file the actual appeal. But when that date came and went they applied to have it extended for a further three months. And then another three months. And then another.

That process continued throughout 2019 and 2020, every three months the date would come and go without an appeal being filed and Benn's lawyers would be granted another three months.

That was until recently, when, after as many as eight applications to extended the NIA over more than two-and-a-half years, the latest application was not simply rubber stamped and was instead said to be under consideration by a NSW Supreme Court registrar.

Then, a few weeks later, the word came back that Benn's latest NIA had been refused.

He had exhausted his appeal process and would serve the maximum 40-year jail term.

The matter of R v Andrew James Benn was finally over.

"This will allow the victims to breathe a sigh of relief knowing it is finalised and they have received justice," Detective senior constable Lauren Park, who investigated and charged Benn, said.

"I don't think anything can ever mitigate the harm they were caused, but knowing their voices were heard can go a long way in the healing process for victims.

"I have maintained contact with some of the women to keep them updated on the appeal process.

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"Some, understandably, didn't want to know until it was finalised.

"It was tough for them not knowing if they would be going through the process again, however they should be proud of the courage they displayed in coming forward.

"Hopefully their actions will encourage others to come forward and have confidence in knowing police will thoroughly investigate any report of sexual assault.

"I hope this result provides some closure and comfort for the victims to be able to move forward in their lives."

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