29 Sept 2023
The Court rejected admission of the proposed fresh evidence because Ms A’s account was internally inconsistent and lacked credibility and Ms C’s evidence was not fresh or material; neither affidavit created a real risk of a different verdict and the jury’s guilty verdicts were reasonable on the evidence presented, so leave to adduce fresh evidence was declined and the appeal dismissed.
2 Jun 2023
The Court accepted the complainant's recantation as credible after assessing trial evidence, contemporaneous records and the complainant's testimony; it granted extension of time, admitted fresh evidence from the complainant and appellant, concluded the conviction depended on the complainant's evidence and was unsafe, set aside the conviction and declined to order a retrial.
14 Dec 2020
The High Court dismissed the appeal: although the District Court judgment was abbreviated and did not list elements of each offence, the Judge identified the pivotal issue (complainant credibility), provided sufficient engagement with evidence and reasons to support convictions under s232, properly admitted and used propensity evidence, exercised discretion correctly on recall and adjournment, and imposed a sentence and minimum period within permissible ranges given the culpability, protection and denunciation factors.
16 Sept 2019
The Court found the complainant's recantation not credible and untrue based on the context of changed residence and animosity toward the mother, the timing and use of the statements in Family Court proceedings, the implausibility and rejection of the appellant's defence at trial, consistency of the complainant's original testimony including a recorded interview across two trials, and limitations of the complainant's memory; accordingly the extension of time and leave to adduce fresh evidence were granted but the appeal was dismissed and a publication prohibition under s140 Criminal Justice Ac…
20 Apr 2018
The Court found the complainant's recantation to be untrue after critical assessment of trial testimony, contemporaneous statements, phone records and witness evidence; because the trial evidence was credible and the recantation was attributable to changed circumstances and influence rather than falsity, the appeal was dismissed and convictions upheld.
10 Mar 2016
The Court held that C's recantation did not render her earlier complaints inadmissible or unsafe to put to a jury; the propensity evidence was properly admissible and the judge gave adequate, orthodox directions; the summing-up was not unbalanced and no miscarriage of justice occurred, so the appeal was dismissed.
8 Dec 2011
The application for leave was dismissed because the proposed grounds were not arguable: the Court of Appeal had properly assessed and rejected the recantations and the cousin's evidence as not credible or cogent, and it was not in the interests of justice to grant leave; the applicant's remaining remedy for fresh material is an s406 application.