DG v LDK

DISTRICT COURT OF QUEENSLAND

CITATION:

DG v LDK [2011] QDC 10

PARTIES:

DG
(applicant)

v

LDK
(respondent)

FILE NO/S:

121/2009

DIVISION:

Civil

PROCEEDING:

Application for criminal compensation

ORIGINATING COURT:

Beenleigh

DELIVERED ON:

18 February 2011

DELIVERED AT:

Beenleigh

HEARING DATE:

20 December 2010

JUDGE:

Dearden DCJ

ORDER:

The respondent LDK pay the applicant DG the sum of $22,500

CATCHWORDS:

LEGISLATION:

CASES

Application – Criminal Compensation – sexual assault – mental or nervous shock – adverse impacts

Criminal Offence Victims Act 1995 s.24.

Victims of Crime Assistance Act 2009 s.167.

Criminal Offence Victims Regulation s.1A.

JMR obo SRR v Hornsby [2009] QDC 147.

JI v AV [2002] 2 Qd R 367.

COUNSEL:

Ms P James (solicitor) for the applicant

No appearance for the respondent

SOLICITORS:

Legal Aid Queensland for the applicant

No appearance for the respondent

Introduction

1. The respondent LDK pleaded guilty (relevantly) in the Beenleigh District Court on 7 September 2007 to a count of sexual assault of the applicant DG.  The respondent also pleaded guilty on 7 September, 2007 to counts of burglary, and burglary by breaking in the night. 

1. The respondent was sentenced to three years imprisonment in respect of the sexual assault count, and concurrent sentences in respect of the other two counts.  The effective head sentence of three years was suspended after the respondent had served a period of nine months imprisonment. A period of 139 days pre-sentence custody was declared time served pursuant to the sentence. 

Facts

1. The respondent and the applicant were both present at a party on the evening of 1 November 2005 at a house nearby the applicant’s residence.  As the evening progressed, the respondent made advances to the applicant, although these advances were not the subject of any criminal proceedings.

1. In the early hours of 2 November 2005, the applicant, the respondent, and the complainant in respect of a second burglary by the respondent, all left the party.  The applicant returned to her house and went to bed.  The respondent broke in to the house of another woman who had been at the party, but when that woman discovered the respondent, she kicked him out of her house. 

1. The respondent then came to the applicant’s house, outside her bedroom window, and requested that the applicant come outside, which she refused to do.  The applicant also refused to allow the respondent to come inside.  The applicant, who was intoxicated, then fell into a deep sleep.  The next thing the applicant recalls was what she thought was a dream about being kissed on the vagina. The applicant recalls the sound of a belt buckle making a noise. By the time the applicant had awoken and yelled out, there was no one else in her room.

1. The applicant made a complaint to police.  The applicant’s residence and room were examined. The applicant herself was medically examined and swabs were taken from her. The forensic evidence indicated that the respondent’s saliva was present in the upper region of the applicant’s right thigh. Further, after…