LTC v The State of Western Australia

In this case, the appellant was convicted of two counts of sexual offences against a young female complainant, E, and acquitted on four other counts. The appellant sought leave to appeal against his convictions on counts 3 and 4, arguing that the guilty verdicts were unreasonable and not supported by the evidence, and that the guilty verdicts were inconsistent with the not guilty verdicts on counts 1, 2, 5, and 6. The Court of Appeal considered both grounds of appeal and found them to be without merit.

Regarding ground 1, the Court found that the jury's verdicts of guilty on counts 3 and 4 were supported by the evidence. The Court considered the sufficiency and quality of the evidence and found that it was open to the jury to be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the appellant was guilty of the offences the subject of counts 3 and 4. The Court concluded that the verdicts of guilty on counts 3 and 4 were not unreasonable or unsupported by the evidence.

Regarding ground 2, the Court found that the verdicts of guilty on counts 3 and 4 were consistent with the verdicts of not guilty on counts 1, 2, 5, and 6. The Court noted that there were material differences in the evidence concerning each of the incidents and that the jury had the advantage of seeing and hearing the evidence first-hand. The Court concluded that the verdicts of guilty and not guilty could stand together as an exercise in fact-finding based on logic and reasonableness.

As a result, the Court refused leave to appeal and dismissed the appeal.