Salt Creek backpacker attacker sentenced to at least 17 years in prison

Roman Heinze, the man who violently attacked two backpackers at Salt Creek last year, has been sentenced to at least 17 years behind bars.

The 61-year-old appeared in the South Australian Supreme Court today where Justice Trish Kelly handed down penalties for the Salt Creek offences and an indecent assault on another young backpacker in Adelaide in 2014.

Heinze has been sentenced to 22 years and 4 months with a minimum of 17 years without parole.  

In March, Heinze was found guilty of six charges including indecent assault, aggravated kidnapping and endangering life in relation against two backpackers he lured to a remote beach on the SA Coorong.

He has already launched an appeal against his convictions.

Heinze met his victims through the Gumtree website, where they had sought a ride to Melbourne, and drove them to Salt Creek.

After setting up camp, he tied up a Brazilian woman with rope and sexually assaulted her before hitting a German woman in the head with a hammer several times and repeatedly ramming her with his 4WD.

In relation to the 2014 offence, Heinze pleaded guilty to indecently assaulting the woman at a house in Adelaide's south after also offering her a ride interstate.