Aggravated Sexual Assault and Aggravated Indecent Assault

Published 24 Oct 2011

Case Study – Criminal Lawyers Sydney and Parramatta Offices - Criminal Offence – Criminal Matter – Aggravated Sexual Assault - Aggravated Indecent Assault – jury trial – Wagga Wagga District Court – not guilty – costs application – Costs In Criminal Cases Act

Nyman Gibson Stewart

Criminal Lawyers

Wagga Wagga District Court

Represented by Solicitor: Philip Stewart, Accredited Specialist Criminal Law

Facts: Our client charged with sexual assault and a number of aggravated indecent assaults upon his daughter, alleged to have occurred during contact visits. The complainant disclosed to relatives by on-line chat, and subsequently gave 4 statements to police as well as having her initial complaint recorded on video. She complained to her best friend.  She did not initially complain of sexual assault and in fact denied that she was sexually assaulted.  Months later she complained after having an argument with her mother. JIRT (Joint Investigation Response Team) arranged for the complainant to be medically examined.

Result: The matter was listed for a trial.  Fortunately, the evidence of complaint to the best friend was taken by police by video.  The version by the complainant suggested highly inappropriate touching.  The best friend said otherwise – and gave a sordid account of sexual acts. Police had re-interviewed the complainant after interviewing the best friend – but the complainant did not mention the acts that she had allegedly told her best friend. How could these two ‘stories’ sit together? The complainant’s version was noticeably different to the version recorded on the chat room text.  It seemed that every time the ‘story’ was re-told, it was different. There were other twists and turns in the case which cannot be revealed. The final piece of unbelievable evidence was the complaint to the doctor which was vastly different to what had been previously alleged.

The jury took a suitably short time to return verdicts of not guilty.  We were that confident of winning that written costs submissions had been prepared prior to the accused giving evidence.  This comes from experience and solid preparation for trial.

Serious charges like these carry standard non-parole periods for persons found guilty at trial.  Our client would have faced many years in gaol if these ‘stories’ had been believed. Philip Stewart is an accredited criminal law specialist and travels to courts all over NSW including Wagga Court as a  specialist criminal lawyer fighting to prevent injustice.