R v AJ

The appellant was convicted in the County Court of Victoria of two counts of assault and one count of an indecent act on a girl under the age of 16 years. The girl, who was under the age of 16 years at the relevant time, was a foster child in the appellant’s care. The trial was before a judge alone and the jury was discharged. The appellant appealed against conviction to the Court of Criminal Appeal. The central issue before the court was whether the prosecution was statute-barred, as the alleged offences were said to have been committed more than 12 months before the indictment was preferred. The relevant statutory provision stated that no prosecution for the offences in question could be instituted more than 12 months after the commission of the offence if the girl was over the age of 14 years and under the age of 16 years at the time of the alleged offence.

The court considered whether the evidence showed that the alleged offences occurred within the statutory period. The court noted that the girl had testified that the offences occurred in 1978 or 1979, but the appellant contended that the offences could have occurred after she turned 14 years of age. The court concluded that there was no evidence to establish that the offences occurred after the girl turned 14 years of age. The court held that the prosecution was not statute-barred as the evidence did not establish that the offences occurred after the statutory period had expired. The appeal was dismissed, and the convictions were upheld.