Bates v The King

The appeal concerned the conviction of the appellant, Bates, for offences of maintaining a sexual relationship with a child and persistent sexual abuse of a child. The complainant, MS, alleged that a series of unlawful sexual incidents occurred between December 2010 and November 2015 at the appellant's farm. MS was unable to provide precise dates or a chronological order for these alleged incidents, only being able to narrow the timeframe by reference to her stepsister's departure from the home.

The legal issues before the Court of Appeal included whether the verdict was unreasonable or insupportable having regard to the evidence, whether there was a misdirection or non-direction in the summing up, and whether a warning regarding the complainant's delay in reporting the offending, often referred to as a "Longman warning," was required or advisable. The Court also considered the judicial discretion to admit or exclude evidence, particularly where that evidence might be prejudicial.

The Court of Appeal granted permission to appeal on one ground and referred the consideration of permission for other grounds to the full Court. The evidence presented at trial detailed MS's allegations of specific sexual acts, including an incident of inappropriate touching while she was on the appellant's lap and a subsequent incident where a pencil was inserted into her vagina. MS's inability to recall specific dates, her age at the time of the incidents, or the precise circumstances surrounding them formed a significant part of the evidence considered. The Court's reasoning would have addressed the adequacy of the evidence to support the verdict, the directions given to the jury concerning the complainant's evidence, and the application of principles relating to the admission of potentially prejudicial evidence.