Andrew O’Brien (with I J MacNicol) appeared for the appellant pro bono.
The appellant appealed his convictions for 10 sexual offences on two grounds. Firstly, that a miscarriage of justice occurred because the Crown failed to disclose the complainant’s victim impact statement before she gave evidence. Secondly, that the verdicts were unreasonable and not supported by the evidence.
The Court unanimously dismissed the appeal. The alleged inconsistencies between the complainant’s victim impact statement and her evidence were either immaterial or not inconsistent and therefore insufficient to establish a miscarriage of justice. Further, the jury was entitled to find the appellant guilty beyond reasonable doubt. The purported weaknesses in the evidence did not materially reduce its probative value so as to render the verdicts unreasonable.
The judgment can be read by clicking here
