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[2019] NSWCCA 125
Court of Criminal Appeal (NSW)
2018-11-16
Johnson J, Adams J
Original judgment source is linked above.
HEADNOTE [This headnote is not to be read as part of the judgment] In August 2017, the appellant was charged in the District Court with four child sexual assault offences against ss 66C and 66D of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW). The relevant conduct occurred between 1989 and 1991, and was occasioned against his now-adult daughter. In 1992, the complainant made allegations that the appellant had committed sexual offences against her. She was medically examined and gave statements to police. The appellant denied the allegations when interviewed by police and during cross-examination in committal proceedings. Before the trial was due to commence, the appellant notified police that she did not wish to "go on with the matter". The Director of Public Prosecutions declined to proceed with the prosecution of the appellant. In 2014, the complainant reactivated her complaints. Some material collected for the 1992 prosecution could not be located. That included any video, audio or written record of the appellant's police interview in which he denied the allegations, and readable versions of the appellant's medical records. Other material could be found, such as the complainant's statements and the transcript of the 1992 committal proceedings. Before a jury was empanelled, the appellant made an application for a permanent stay of the proceedings on the basis that a fair trial could not be afforded to him due to the loss of documentation. The trial judge rejected that application. At the closing of the Crown case, the trial judge directed, and the jury returned, a verdict of not guilty on Count 4. After the summing up, the jury returned verdicts of guilty on Counts 1 and 3, and not guilty on Count 2. The appellant was sentenced to an aggregate term of imprisonment of 5 years, with a non-parole period of 3 years. The appellant appealed his conviction on two grounds: (1) that the trial judge erred in law by dismissing his application for a permanent stay of proceedings; (2) that, in light of his acquittal on Count 2, the jury's verdicts of guilty were unreasonable and not supported by the evidence. Held, granting leave to raise the second ground but dismissing the appeal (per Simpson AJA, Johnson and N Adams JJ agreeing): In relation to ground (1): (i) The appellant did not identify any error in the trial judge's discretionary decision to refuse a permanent stay. From the available documentation, the appellant had the benefit of a near contemporaneous denial and cross-examination of Crown witnesses at his 1992 committal proceedings: [41], [44], [64], [65]. In relation to ground (2): (ii) The proper enquiry is whether the acquittals, not convictions, can be explained. The acquittal on Count 2 can be explained, as it was subject to an amendment which expanded the range of dates during which the offence was alleged to have been committed. That is sufficient for the jury to have questioned the accuracy of the complainant's evidence of that incident. A consideration of the evidence shows that it was open to the jury to convict the appellant on Counts 1 and 3, notwithstanding his acquittals on Counts 2 and 4: [50], [51], [61], [64], [65]. TK v R (2009) 74 NSWLR 299; [2009] NSWCCA 151; M v The Queen (1994) 181 CLR 487; [1994] HCA 63 applied.
Judgment
The Crown case
Ground 1: The application for permanent stay of the proceedings
The trial judge's decision
The appellant's submissions on appeal
Disposition
Ground 2: unreasonable verdict
DISCLAIMER - Every effort has been made to comply with suppression orders or statutory provisions prohibiting publication that may apply to this judgment or decision. The onus remains on any person using material in the judgment or decision to ensure that the intended use of that material does not breach any such order or provision. Further enquiries may be directed to the Registry of the Court or Tribunal in which it was generated. Decision last updated: 14 June 2019
Hogan (a pseudonym)
R
[1997] HCA 56
[2002] HCA 53
[2016] HCA 35
(1936) 55 CLR 499
(1997) 191 CLR 439
(1989) 168 CLR 79
(1994) 181 CLR 487
(2002) 213 CLR 606
(2001) 52 NSWLR 82
(1987) 11 NSWLR 12
(2011) 243 CLR 400
(2016) 258 CLR 308
(2009) 74 NSWLR 299
[1936] HCA 40