R v Craig; Exparte A-G (Qld) - [2002] QCA 414

[2002] QCA 414

COURT OF APPEAL

MCPHERSON JA
CULLINANE J
HOLMES J

CA No 265 of 2002

THE QUEEN
v.
ROSS GREGORY CRAIG	(Respondent)

and

ATTORNEY-GENERAL OF QUEENSLAND (Appellant)

BRISBANE

..DATE 07/10/2002

JUDGMENT

MR M J COPLEY (instructed by the Director of Public Prosecutions (Queensland)) for the appellant

MR A J RAFTER (instructed by Mellick Smith & Associates) for the respondent

McPHERSON JA: I ask Justice Holmes to give the first set of reasons.

HOLMES J: The Attorney-General appeals against sentences imposed on the respondent on two counts of permitting himself to be indecently dealt with by a child, one count of indecently dealing with a child, and one count of exposing a child to an indecent act. In each case the aggravating circumstances were that the child was under 12 and was under his care.

The respondent pleaded guilty on an ex officio indictment to all four counts in the District Court on the 8th of August 2002 and was sentenced to eighteen months' imprisonment on each count suspended after serving four months, with an operational period of three years.

The respondent was 43 years of age at the time of the offences, a married man with three children. He has no prior criminal history. He was principal of a small school in northern Queensland. The offences the subject of this appeal were all committed against a grade 7 student at the school who was aged 11 years at the time.

It was the respondent who disclosed the offences to the police in December 2001. That seems to have come about after he became aware firstly, in June 2001 that the Criminal Justice Commission was investigating reports of his swimming naked in a creek near the school while children were about, and secondly, at about the same time, that the complainant had made reference in a committal proceedings against another person to his having got her to massage his feet down at that creek.

At any rate, in October 2001 the respondent telephoned the Cairns police and made an appointment to speak to them at the end of the school year in December. In the meantime, on the 9th of December 2001, he wrote a letter of apology to the complainant making clear his betrayal of trust, his complete responsibility for what had happened, and his remorse. On the 17th of December 2001 he gave a full account of events to the Cairns police. The counts on the indictment were framed directly from his confession.

The offence the subject of the first count of indecent treatment occurred between the 1st of July 1999 and the 1st of September 1999. On an occasion when the complainant child had attended his house to use his computer the respondent lay naked on a couch in his lounge room and had her massage his feet. The offences, the subject of counts 2, 3, and 4, were a series of events occurring on one occasion at the creek adjacent to the school in November…

Grounds of appeal

[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.

[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.

[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.

Consideration

[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.

[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.

Keep reading for free

Create a free CaseChat account to read R v Craig; Exparte A-G (Qld) and more:

Read every judgment in full
Ask AI and get answers linked to paragraphs
See how each paragraph was cited in later cases
Download judgments as PDF or Word

Continue with Google

One click creates your free account or signs you in.

By continuing you agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy.

Details

Case: [2002] QCA 414
Decision Date: 07/10/2002

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the case of R v Craig; Exparte A-G (Qld), the Attorney-General of Queensland appealed against the sentences imposed on the respondent, Ross Gregory Craig, on four counts relating to child sexual abuse. Craig, who was the principal of a small school in northern Queensland, pleaded guilty to permitting himself to be indecently dealt with by a child, indecently dealing with a child, and exposing a child to an indecent act, with aggravating circumstances that the child was under 12 and under his care. The District Court sentenced Craig to eighteen months' imprisonment on each count, suspended after serving four months, with an operational period of three years. The appeal focused on the adequacy of the sentence, specifically the period of suspension after the initial four months of imprisonment.

The primary legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether the sentence imposed by the District Court was outside the range of a proper sentencing discretion. The Court of Appeal considered the mitigating and aggravating factors, including Craig's remorse, his cooperation with the police, and the serious nature of the offences due to his position of trust as a school principal.

The Court of Appeal found that the head sentence of eighteen months' imprisonment was appropriate and that the period of four months in actual custody adequately addressed the need for deterrence. The court also recognised the extraordinary circumstances of the case, particularly Craig's voluntary confessions and his otherwise impeccable background. The Court concluded that the sentence was an appropriate exercise of the District Court's discretion and dismissed the appeal. The appeal was unanimously dismissed by the judges, affirming the original sentence.

Orders