JRJ v R [2017] NSWCCA 182

Court of Criminal Appeal Supreme Court New South Wales Medium Neutral Citation: JRJ v R [2017] NSWCCA 182 Hearing dates: 30 June 2017 Date of orders: 28 July 2017 Decision date: 28 July 2017 Before: Hoeben CJ at CL at [1] Fullerton J at [126] Garling J at [150] Decision: (1) Leave to appeal against conviction is granted. (2) The appeal is allowed. (3) The applicant's conviction for Count 2 is quashed. (4) There should be a verdict of acquittal entered in favour of the applicant and he should be released forthwith. Catchwords: CRIMINAL LAW – conviction appeal – applicant charged with two offences contrary to s 66A(2) of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW), i.e. aggravated sexual intercourse with a person under the age of 10 years – jury convict on one count but acquit on the other – conviction dependent upon acceptance of evidence of complainant – single ground of appeal – verdict unreasonable and cannot be supported by evidence – important evidence of complainant in recorded interview inherently unbelievable – important change to complainant's evidence at trial – reasonable doubt established – appeal allowed – verdict of acquittal entered. Legislation Cited: Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) – s 66A Criminal Code 1899 (Qld) – 668E Criminal Procedure Act 1986 (NSW) Criminal Appeal Act 1912 (NSW) – s 6 Cases Cited: CR v R [2017] NSWCCA 29 HG v The Queen [1995] HCA 2; (1999) 197 CLR 414 Maloney v Commissioner for Railways (NSW) (1978) 52 ALJR 292 R v Markuleski [2001] NSWCCA 290; 52 NSWLR 82 R v Murray (1987) 11 NSWLR 12 Category: Principal judgment Parties: JRJ – Applicant Regina – Respondent Crown Representation: Counsel: P Coady – Applicant N Williams – Respondent Crown