A judge’s refusal to hold a fact-finding hearing to clarify whether a father, who had been allowed unsupervised contact with his children, had committed indecent assault many years earlier could not be criticised.
CHILDREN CRIMINAL LAW FAMILY LAW FAMILY PROCEEDINGS HEARINGS INDECENT ASSAULT PARENTAL CONTACT SUFFICIENCY OF EVIDENCE
The court gave guidance regarding the assessment of a complainant’s mental capacity in a criminal trial when the alleged offences involved proof of a lack of consent.
ASSESSMENT OF COMPLAINANT’S MENTAL CAPACITY BURDEN OF PROOF CONSENT CRIMINAL EVIDENCE CRIMINAL LAW CRIMINAL PROCEDURE (INSANITY) ACT 1964 s.4A EXPERT WITNESSES MENTAL CAPACITY MENTAL CAPACITY ACT 2005 s.2 MENTAL HEALTH PERSONS LACKING CAPACITY s.1 s.1(2) s.2(1) s.2(4) s.30 s.30(2)(a) s.31 s.31(2)(a) s.32 s.32(2)(a) s.33 s.33(2)(a) s.4 s.4(5) s.42 s.44 s.74 s.75 s.76 SEXUAL ASSAULT SEXUAL OFFENCES SEXUAL OFFENCES ACT 2003 s.3 SEXUAL OFFENCES INVOLVING PROOF OF LACK OF CONSENT STANDARD OF PROOF
Although a judge’s summing up had been defective, in that he had recited large chunks of evidence rather than summarising the defence and prosecution cases, that had not affected the safety of a conviction for sexual assault, it did not deflect the jury from a proper and fair consideration of the issues.
CLARITY OF ISSUES LEFT TO JURY CRIMINAL EVIDENCE CRIMINAL LAW JUDGE’S DEFECTIVE SUMMING UP JUDGES SAFETY OF CONVICTION SEXUAL ASSAULT SUMMING UP
A jury had been given adequate directions in relation to the issue of consent before it found a defendant guilty of rape, assault by penetration and sexual assault following a sexual encounter at a party between the defendant and a woman who was heavily intoxicated. The judge had fully dealt with the elements of capacity and it had not been necessary for him to indicate that a drunken consent remained a consent.
CONSENT CORRECT JURY DIRECTION IN RELATION TO CAPACITY TO CONSENT BY INTOXICATED COMPLAINANT CRIMINAL LAW CRIMINAL PROCEDURE INTOXICATION JURY DIRECTIONS RAPE SUMMING UP
A 30-year delay on the part of a complainant did not render an offender’s convictions for indecent assault, indecency with a child, and rape unsafe as the judge had sufficiently dealt with any prejudice to the offender in his summing up and directions to the jury and there had been other evidence that supported the complainant’s evidence.
“HISTORIC” OFFENCES 30-YEAR DELAY BETWEEN INCIDENT GIVING RISE TO ALLEGATIONS AND COMPLAINANT’S ALLEGATIONS ABUSE OF PROCESS BAD CHARACTER CRIMINAL EVIDENCE CRIMINAL LAW DELAY FAIRNESS INDECENCY INDECENT ASSAULT PREJUDICE TO OFFENDER PREVIOUS CONVICTIONS PROPENSITY RAPE SAFETY OF CONVICTIONS SEXUAL OFFENCES STAY OF PROCEEDINGS
It had not been logically inconsistent for a jury to find a man accused of sexual activity with a child guilty of having intercourse with her but not guilty of digitally penetrating her as they were separate incidents and the surrounding circumstances of the latter might have led the jury to be not sure beyond a reasonable doubt.
ALTERNATIVE VERDICTS CONSENT CRIMINAL LAW CRIMINAL PROCEDURE DEFENDANT GUILTY OF INTERCOURSE WITH CHILD INCONSISTENT VERDICTS INDICTMENTS NO INCONSISTENCY NOT GUILTY OF DIGITAL PENETRATION RAPE SEPARATE INCIDENTS SEXUAL ACTIVITY WITH CHILDREN
A sentence of 12 years’ imprisonment for rape was reduced to 10 and a half years where the sentencing judge had failed to have sufficient regard to the unusual circumstances of the offence, in particular the effect upon the offender and the complainant, his former partner, of the death of their child.
CRIMINAL LAW DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IMPACT OF CHILD’S DEATH MITIGATION RAPE RAPE OF LONG-TERM PARTNER SENTENCING SEXUAL OFFENCES SUFFICIENCY OF REGARD TO UNUSUAL CIRCUMSTANCES
A judge had correctly directed a jury on the issue of doli incapax that they could look at the circumstances surrounding historic sex offences to assist them in their assessment of whether a 13-year-old boy had been aware that his acts were seriously wrong.
“HISTORIC” OFFENCES BUGGERY CRIMINAL JUSTICE (NORTHERN IRELAND) ORDER 1998 art.3 CRIMINAL LAW CRIMINAL PROCEDURE DOLI INCAPAX GROSS INDECENCY HISTORIC SEX OFFENCES INDECENT ASSAULT JURY DIRECTIONS NORTHERN IRELAND SURROUNDING CIRCUMSTANCES AS EVIDENCE OF OFFENDER’S GUILTY KNOWLEDGE
The defendant’s convictions for raping his partner were safe where there was expert evidence that his mental illness had not affected his ability to understand whether his partner had consented. Even if that were wrong, delusional beliefs that a victim was consenting could not render reasonable a belief that the victim was consenting when they were not.
ASSAULT CONSENT CRIMINAL DAMAGE CRIMINAL LAW CRIMINAL PROCEDURE DELUSIONAL BELIEF IN CONSENT EFFECT OF DEFENDANT’S MENTAL ILLNESS JURY DIRECTIONS MENTAL DISORDER RAPE REASONABLE BELIEF REASONABLENESS OF BELIEF IN CONSENT TO SEXUAL INTERCOURSE s.1 SCHIZOPHRENIA SEXUAL OFFENCES ACT 2003 s.1(1)
A sentence of 18 months’ imprisonment following guilty pleas to six counts of taking indecent photographs of a child contrary to the Protection of Children Act 1978 s.1 was not manifestly excessive. However, a deprivation order pursuant to the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 s.143 for forfeiture of his computer went too far and was quashed.
APPROPRIATENESS OF ORDER FOR FORFEITURE OF COMPUTER CRIMINAL LAW DEPRIVATION OF PROPERTY USED FOR PURPOSES OF CRIME DEPRIVATION ORDERS INDECENT PHOTOGRAPHS OF CHILDREN POWERS OF CRIMINAL COURTS (SENTENCING) ACT 2000 s.143 PROTECTION OF CHILDREN ACT 1978 s.1 s.1(1)(a) SENTENCE LENGTH SENTENCING
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