'I thought I was going to be raped and killed': Melbourne woman's home invasion ordeal

A Melbourne woman claims she was threatened with rape and robbed during two aggravated burglaries at her home in the city's south-east.

Noelene Nolan has told A Current Affair a group of at least three thugs stormed her Dandenong home in the middle of the night on April 27. 

One of hooded intruders grabbed her.

"The one that had me by the scruff of the neck said 'I wonder what it'd be like to rape a white girl'," Ms Nolan said.

"The whole time they were in my bedroom they were screaming 'money', 'phones'. They said 'give me any valuables.' I thought I was going to be raped and killed."

The thieves made off with a safe that was in Ms Nolan's home.

In July, the 43-year-old was returning to her property with her now-late mother, who was undergoing cancer treatment at the time.

"As I went to open my security door, it flew open and two masked offenders in hoodies ran out." she said.

"In their rush, they banged me against my wooden door and I fell backward down a step."

Detectives from Narre Warren police are investigating the home invasions, but so far, no one has been apprehended.

It comes as new statistics reveal a sharp rise in the number of foreign-born offenders committing crimes in Victoria.

The independent data shows the number of aggravated burglaries committed by Sudanese-born criminals has soared 390 percent since 2014.

In the 2016-17 period, 98 Sudanese-born offenders were responsible for home invasions.

That compares to 28 New Zealanders and 20 Kenyans.

Motor vehicle theft by Sudanese-born youth in Victoria has climbed by 140 percent in the past three years.

The rise is more pronounced with Kenyan-born offenders - there's been a 320 percent increase since 2014.

More New Zealanders have committed car theft - but that number has remained steady over the past three years.

"There's no doubt looking at statistics that some elements of our community, particularly south Sudanese, have been over-represented in those statistics and shouldn't be," Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Stephen Leane said.

"I think that we've still got a long way to go from a police perspective.

"We're working to keep our communities safe around home invasions, and there's a lot of work to be done there. We can't deny that."

Carmel Guerra, from the Centre for Multicultural Youth Issues, said the solution to the problem was not as easy as jailing offenders.

"We need to address the reason behind youth offending," she said.

"International research and our own programs tell us that locking them up does not affect change."

For more information on programs that help disaffected Sudanese youth get back on track, visit here.

Watch the full A Current Affair program again at 9now.