AS v R [2022] NSWCCA 291

AS v R [2022] NSWCCA 291

By majority, the Court held that the guilty verdicts were not unreasonable. It was open to the jury to accept F's evidence about the offending in counts 1 and 2 while rejecting his incorrect evidence about when the scrapbook drawings were made, because the jury could regard those timing errors as immaterial and explicable by a child's imprecision about time. For count 5, although there was evidence making it unlikely that the applicant slept at R's house on the relevant date, the Crown case did not require proof that he slept there; there was evidence that he continued to visit or stay overnight intermittently during the relevant period. Counts 3 and 4 were also open on G's evidence. The...

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
21 December 2022
Procedural Posture
Criminal Appeal Against Conviction / Application for Leave to Appeal and Appeal From District Court of NSW Jury Convictions
Outcome
Leave to appeal granted; appeal dismissed.
Legal Topics
['appeal Against Conviction' 'unreasonable Verdict' 'sexual Offences Against Children' 'inconsistent Verdicts' 'assessment of Child Complainant Evidence']
['criminal Law' 'criminal Appeals'] ['appeal Against Conviction' 'unreasonable Verdict' 'sexual Offences Against Children' 'inconsistent Verdicts' 'assessment of Child Complainant Evidence']

Case Brief

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Procedural Posture

Criminal Appeal Against Conviction / Application for Leave to Appeal and Appeal From District Court of NSW Jury Convictions

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ["Whether the guilty verdicts for counts 1 and 2 were unreasonable having regard to discrepancies in F's evidence about the timing and storage of the scrapbook drawings." "Whether the guilty verdicts for counts 3 to 5 were unreasonable having regard to G's evidence and the evidence about the applicant's opportunity to commit count 5." 'Whether the guilty verdicts for counts 3 to 5 were inconsistent with the not guilty verdicts for counts 6 and 7.']

Ratio Decidendi

By majority, the Court held that the guilty verdicts were not unreasonable. It was open to the jury to accept F's evidence about the offending in counts 1 and 2 while rejecting his incorrect evidence about when the scrapbook drawings were made, because the jury could regard those timing errors as immaterial and explicable by a child's imprecision about time. For count 5, although there was evidence making it unlikely that the applicant slept at R's house on the relevant date, the Crown case did not require proof that he slept there; there was evidence that he continued to visit or stay overnight intermittently during the relevant period. Counts 3 and 4 were also open on G's evidence. The...

Court Disposition

Leave to appeal granted; appeal dismissed.

Orders

  • ['Grant leave to appeal.' 'Dismiss the appeal.']