R v BBS

The appellant, BBS, appealed against both his conviction and sentence. The appeal against conviction argued that the trial judge failed to provide adequate directions to the jury regarding the use of certain evidence, including a montage image of one complainant’s face superimposed on a nude body with a picture of a penis, and a record of the appellant’s interview. The appellant contended that these errors amounted to a miscarriage of justice. Additionally, the appeal against sentence argued that the sentence was manifestly excessive.

The court considered whether the errors made by the trial judge were so significant that they constituted a miscarriage of justice. The court examined the jury directions and concluded that while there were errors, they were not of such a nature that they undermined the overall fairness of the trial. The court found that the errors did not amount to a miscarriage of justice and dismissed the appeal against conviction. The court also found that the sentence was not manifestly excessive and denied the appeal against sentence. However, the court did order that the period of pre-sentence custody from 28 August 2007 to 25 September 2007 should be recognised as time already served under the sentences imposed for the four offences of unlawful and indecent dealing and the offence of maintaining an unlawful relationship.

In summary, the appeal against conviction was dismissed, and the appeal against sentence was also dismissed, except for the order recognising the pre-sentence custody as time already served. The application for leave to appeal against sentence was otherwise refused.