Kelly v The Queen

The appellant, Kelly, appealed to the Court of Criminal Appeal of New South Wales against his convictions for committing acts of indecency on or in the presence of a young person under the age of 16 years. The appeal concerned the admissibility of certain evidence presented to the jury during the trial.

The central legal issues before the Court were whether the trial judge erred in allowing images of child pornography to be put to the jury, and whether the convictions were rendered unsafe and unsound as a result. The Court also considered whether the probative value of certain evidence, including tendency evidence suggesting an attraction to young girls, relationship evidence, photographic evidence, and transcripts of witness interviews and phone recordings, was outweighed by unfair prejudice.

The Court of Criminal Appeal dismissed the appeal. It was held that the convictions were not unsafe or unsound. The Court found that the admission of the child pornography images, while potentially prejudicial, did not render the verdict unsafe. The Court applied principles relating to the admissibility of evidence, balancing probative value against unfair prejudice, and concluded that the jury's verdict was sound.