R v Davidson

[2019] QCA 120

SUPREME COURT OF QUEENSLAND

CITATION:

R v Davidson [2019] QCA 120

PARTIES:

R
v
DAVIDSON, Charles William
(appellant/applicant)

FILE NO/S:

CA No 56 of 2018
DC No 1736 of 2017

DIVISION:

Court of Appeal

PROCEEDING:

Appeal against Conviction & Sentence

ORIGINATING COURT:

District Court at Brisbane – Date of Conviction: 28 February 2018; Date of Sentence – 2 March 2018 (Farr SC DCJ)

DELIVERED ON:

18 June 2019

DELIVERED AT:

Brisbane

HEARING DATE:

7 November 2018

JUDGE:

Gotterson and McMurdo JJA and Boddice J

ORDERS:

1.   Appeal against conviction dismissed.

2.   Application for leave to appeal against sentence refused.

CATCHWORDS:

CRIMINAL LAW – APPEAL AND NEW TRIAL – INTERFERENCE WITH DISCRETION – CONTROL OF PROCEEDINGS – SEPARATE TRIALS AND ELECTIONS – PARTICULAR OFFENCES – OFFENCES AGAINST THE PERSON – SEXUAL OFFENCES – JOINDER OF COUNTS AND DEFENDANTS – JOINT TRIAL – where the appellant was convicted at trial of 18 counts of sexual assault and one count of rape against nine separate female complainants – where the jury was unable to reach a verdict on two other counts of rape against one female complainant – where each complainant attended on the appellant in his professional capacity as a masseur – where each complainant alleged the appellant applied his fingers to a private part of their body during their massage – where the pre-trial hearing judge refused a defence application for severing the counts – whether the counts involving the various complainants formed part of a series of offences of the same or similar character – whether there was a sufficient link between the rape offences and the sexual assault offences as to make them admissible in the proof of the other

CRIMINAL LAW – APPEAL AND NEW TRIAL – VERDICT UNREASONABLE OR INSUPPORTABLE HAVING REGARD TO EVIDENCE – APPEAL DISMISSED – where the appellant was convicted at trial of 18 counts of sexual assault and one count of rape against nine separate female complainants – where the jury was unable to reach a verdict on two other counts of rape against one female complainant – where the complainants attended on the appellant in his professional capacity as a masseur – where the complainants alleged the appellant applied his fingers to a private part of each complainant’s body during their massage – where each complainant gave direct evidence of the appellant having committed each of the charged acts – where the appellant denied having undertaken the conduct the subject of each count – whether it was open to the jury to reject the appellant’s denials of having undertaken the conduct the subject of each count – whether it was open to the jury to accept that the evidence of each complainant was sufficiently reliable to satisfy the jury beyond reasonable doubt of the appellant’s guilt on each of the counts – whether the verdicts of the jury were unreasonable

CRIMINAL LAW – APPEAL AND NEW TRIAL – APPEAL AGAINST SENTENCE – GROUNDS FOR INTERFERENCE – SENTENCE MANIFESTLY EXCESSIVE OR INADEQUATE –…