R v CAU

The appellant was convicted of two counts of indecent treatment of a child under 16 and two counts of incest. The appellant appealed against the conviction, arguing that the verdicts were unreasonable and amounted to a miscarriage of justice due to the late complaint and inconsistencies in the complainant's evidence. The court was required to consider the admissibility of certain evidence, including the complainant's preliminary complaints to friends and grandmother about threats made by the appellant, and the prosecution's evidence of sexual abuse of the complainant by her father. The court also had to examine whether the trial judge erred in failing to direct the jury regarding the use of evidence of counts that were withdrawn by the prosecution during the trial.

The court found that the trial judge had not erred in admitting the evidence of the complainant's preliminary complaints, as they were relevant to the appellant's state of mind and the nature of the relationship between the appellant and the complainant. However, the court found that the trial judge should have directed the jury that they were not required to accept the unchallenged evidence of the psychologist, as it was outside their experience and knowledge. The court also found that the trial judge erred in failing to direct the jury regarding the use of evidence of the counts that were withdrawn by the prosecution during the trial, as it may have influenced the jury's decision.

The court found that the verdicts were unreasonable and amounted to a miscarriage of justice, as the inconsistencies in the complainant's evidence and the late complaint meant that the jury could not have been satisfied beyond reasonable doubt of the appellant's guilt. The court allowed the appeal against conviction, set aside the convictions on counts 1, 3, 9 and 11, and ordered a re-trial on those counts. The court also found that the evidence of the sexual abuse of the complainant by her father was admissible, as it was relevant to the nature of the relationship between the appellant and the complainant.