R v ERJ

The appellant, ERJ, was charged with sexual offences against a child, the victim, and the case was heard in the Supreme Court of Victoria. The dispute centred around the admissibility of certain evidence related to the complainant's sexual relationship with a third party, as well as the delayed reporting of the alleged offences. The court was required to determine whether the exclusion of this evidence contravened the complainant's credibility and whether the jury should have been directed to consider the potential reasons for the delay in reporting.

The legal issues before the court were whether the evidence of the sexual relationship had substantial relevance to the case and whether its exclusion unfairly bolstered the credibility of the complainant. Additionally, the court had to consider whether the jury should have been instructed to consider the reasons for the delay in making the complaint, and if the verdicts reached were logically inconsistent and unsafe.

The court held that the exclusion of the evidence pertaining to the sexual relationship did not unfairly bolster the complainant's credibility, as it was not directly relevant to the alleged offences. Furthermore, the court found that the trial judge had correctly assessed the potential prejudice of such evidence and determined that its probative value was outweighed by the risk of unfair prejudice. Regarding the delay in reporting, the court held that the trial judge had not erred in failing to instruct the jury on the reasons for the delay, as the delay was not a significant factor in the case. The verdicts were found to be logically consistent, and the appeal was ultimately dismissed.

No specific orders were made by the court beyond dismissing the appeal.