EXCLUSIVE
An aspiring TikTok star admitted to hitting her influencer girlfriend after having sex in a hotel room and then telling her “we can fix this, I love you so much.”
Rabih Houchar initially denied brutally assaulting Tara Eslami after she had flown from Melbourne to Sydney to celebrate fellow influencer Alia Elhassan’s birthday.
Houchar, whose ‘dior_onma_body’ TikTok account has been stripped of all content but retains 16,800 followers, remains free after pleading guilty to assault actually causing bodily harm.
He is prohibited from using the Internet as part of his bail conditions and has no other source of income other than the $1,000 to $1,500 a week he previously claimed to earn from his social media accounts.
The 27-year-old already had a history of violent crimes, including a prison sentence for business robbery, before attacking Eslami seven months ago.
Eslami, also known as Tara Eve and has more than 22,000 followers on TikTok and Instagram, traveled to Sydney for Elhassan’s birthday party on June 15 last year.
The boat party attracted a crowd of popular TikTokers, including Ms Elhassan’s sister Jenny Elhassan and Evelyn Ellis, who has almost 238,000 followers.
Videos posted online showed revelers cruising around the city in luxury cars, dancing on a yacht while drinking champagne and then heading to a room at the Crown hotel.
Aspiring TikTok star Rabih Houchar (above) admitted to hitting his influencer girlfriend after having sex in a hotel room and then telling her “we can fix this, I love you so much.”
Around 1pm the next day, Eslami had lunch with Houchar, with whom she had been in an on-off relationship for eight months.
According to a statement of facts lodged at Downing Center Local Court, the couple argued during the meal, but Mrs Eslami described the disagreement as “nothing major”.
After lunch, the couple returned to room 1006 of the Vibe Hotel on Sussex Street, where Eslami began reading text messages from a friend Houchar didn’t like.
At a bail hearing in August it was alleged that Houchar told Eslami: “I don’t like the girls you date,” then grabbed his phone and smashed the screen.
The Supreme Court heard Eslami grabbed his phone and said: “I’m going to call the police.” I should have done this sooner.’
Houchar responded by kissing Eslami and telling her, “I’m sorry, let me fix this, I’m sorry.” I shouldn’t have reacted the way I did, let’s buy you a new phone now.’
He apologized repeatedly, saying, “I’m sorry, let me fix this,” according to the account of events.
“The victim noticed that the defendant had calmed down and became empathetic and the two had sexual intercourse,” the statement said.
Rabih Houchar initially denied assaulting Tara Eslami (above) after she attended and had flown from Melbourne to Sydney to celebrate fellow influencer Alia Elhassan’s birthday.
Videos showed revelers cruising around the city in luxury cars and drinking champagne on a yacht. Ms. Eslami is pictured playing a drum on the yacht during the party.
“After the sexual intercourse, the accused said: ‘We can separate after this, you don’t need to go to the police.’
Houchar, who has a son in Perth, then showed Eslami pictures of other women on Snapchat, suggesting he might be with another woman.
A new argument ensued and Mrs Eslami walked towards the door, but Houchar stopped her from leaving by grabbing her arm.
“I’m not afraid of you,” Eslami told Houchar.
‘You’re not going to scare me this time, just go. I’m going to go to the police and show them my phone. I have voice recordings from before.’
As Eslami packed her bag and headed toward the door once again, Houchar pulled her shirt back, causing it to tear.
He dragged Eslami by her hair across the floor to the bed and then began punching her in the face.
“The victim cannot remember how many hits since it happened so quickly,” the statement of facts says.
The day after Ms Eslami (above) attended Alia Elhassan’s birthday party in Sydney, she went to lunch with Rabih Houchar. During the meal the couple had a small argument.
After lunch, Eslami and Houchar returned to room 1006 of the Vibe hotel on Sussex Street, where he assaulted her. The photo shows a hotel room.
Eslami felt dizzy and suffered a cut lip and a bruise on her forehead.
When Houchar finished assaulting Ms. Eslami, he walked away and began punching himself in the head.
A worried Mrs. Eslami took Houchar by the arms and told him to calm down. He responded by saying, ‘Why are you doing this to me? We can fix this. I love you very much.’
Mrs. Eslami took Houchar to bed and took something cold from the refrigerator to apply to his head.
While Houchar tended to her own wounds, Eslami again tried to flee, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her back to the bed.
As Houchar continued to apologize, Mrs Eslami told him: “Fuck you, please leave me alone, I’m done, I never want to see you again.”
Houchar then climbed on top of Eslami and punched him in the head. Eslami begged Houchar to stop, but he used his legs to keep her still.
‘Arrest? “I’m going to go to jail,” he said, before Eslami managed to escape.
When Mrs. Eslami (in a circle) tried to flee the hotel, Houchar grabbed her shirt and caused it to rip. He dragged Ms Eslami by her hair and then began punching her in the face.
When Houchar (above) finished attacking Ms Eslami, he walked away and began punching himself in the head. Eslami took Houchar by the arms and told him to calm down.
Police arrived at the hotel around 7:40 p.m. and spoke separately to Eslami and Houchar, who stated that the couple had only had a verbal dispute.
Houchar was refused bail when he pleaded not guilty the following day to assault occasioning actual bodily harm, destruction or damage to property and stalking or intimidation.
He was granted bail on August 19 and pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm at Downing Center Local Court on November 29, when the other charges were dropped. An additional charge of common assault was also dismissed.
At the same time, Magistrate Janet Wahlquist imposed a two-year domestic violence arrest warrant to protect Ms. Eslami from Houchar.
Houchar was sentenced to a minimum sentence of two years and three months in July 2017 for theft from a business and handling the proceeds of crime.
He was sentenced to an 18-month community corrections order in September 2022 after being found guilty of intentionally distributing an intimate image without consent.
In an unrelated matter, Jenny Elhassan made headlines in April 2022 when she was the victim of an acid attack by three masked men who threw a corrosive substance in her face outside a Chinatown restaurant.
Alia Elhassan was previously married to convicted drug dealer Steven Elmir, once considered one of the most feared figures in Sydney’s underworld.
Houchar, of Guildford, in Sydney’s west, will face a sentencing hearing later this month.