IMM v The Queen

The Supreme Court of South Australia, Court of Criminal Appeal, considered an appeal by IMM against his conviction for sexual offences. The appeal concerned the admissibility and use of evidence relating to complaints made by the complainant to her family and friends, as well as evidence of other alleged sexual misconduct by the appellant.

The primary legal issues before the Court were whether the trial judge erred in admitting evidence of complaints made by the complainant to her aunt, grandmother, and mother under section 66 of the *Evidence (National Uniform Legislation) Act* (SA) and whether this evidence should have been excluded under section 137 of the Act due to unfair prejudice. Further, the Court had to determine if the trial judge’s directions to the jury regarding the use of complaint evidence were adequate, particularly in relation to propensity reasoning, and whether evidence of other alleged sexual misconduct by the appellant, admitted under section 97 of the Act as tendency evidence, possessed sufficient probative value.

The Court reasoned that the trial judge did not err in admitting the complaint evidence, finding that its probative value was not outweighed by any unfair prejudice to the appellant. The Court also held that the trial judge’s direction that complaint evidence could be used as "some evidence that an offence did occur" was not erroneous. The Court noted that the complaints were capable of referring to both charged and uncharged acts, and that the trial judge had provided a comprehensive warning against propensity reasoning in relation to direct evidence of uncharged sexual abuse. The Court concluded that no additional warning was necessary in relation to the complaint evidence. Regarding the tendency evidence of other sexual misconduct, the Court found it was properly admitted under section 97 as it had significant probative value and was not required to be excluded under section 137.

The appeal was dismissed.