R v Howes

The matter before the court was an appeal against conviction and sentence by the accused, Howes, a teacher, following his conviction for the offence of sexual penetration with a seventeen-year-old student. The case was heard in the Court of Appeal, Victoria. The appellant argued that the trial judge had erred in finding that the victim was under his "care, supervision or authority" at the time of the offence and that the sentence imposed was manifestly excessive. The respondent contended that the findings of the trial judge were correct and that the sentence was appropriate.

The court considered the legal issue of whether the victim was under the appellant’s "care, supervision or authority" as defined by the Crimes Act 1958. The court held that the words of the statute should be given their ordinary meaning and that the term "or" should not be read as "and". The court found that the appellant had authority over the victim in the school context, but this did not necessarily extend to all occasions outside of school. The court held that the appellant had not proven that the victim was not under his "care, supervision or authority" at the time of the offence. The court also considered the sentencing issue and held that the six-month imprisonment term was not manifestly excessive.

The court dismissed the appeal against conviction but allowed the appeal against sentence and substituted a sentence of six weeks imprisonment, to be served as a suspended sentence with a 12-month good behaviour bond. The court found that the failure to comply with the rule in Browne v. Dunn did not result in a miscarriage of justice.