R v LKB

The appeal concerned a conviction for persistent sexual exploitation of a child under section 50 of an unspecified Act. The prosecution alleged that the offending occurred between 22 January 2000 and 31 July 2002, involving a complainant who turned five years old on the first date. The alleged conduct included inserting fingers into the complainant's vagina on more than one occasion, licking her vagina on one occasion, attempting to insert the appellant's penis into her vagina on one occasion, and touching her vagina on one occasion, with the complainant alleging penetration in relation to the last act.

The primary legal issue before the court was the interpretation of section 50, specifically whether acts of sexual exploitation that could be particularised as separate sexual offences could still form the basis of a charge under section 50. The appellant argued that if individual incidents were sufficiently particularised to justify a charge for a separate sexual offence, they could not, for that reason, amount to acts of sexual exploitation within the meaning of section 50. A further issue was whether the verdict reached at trial was unreasonable or insupportable having regard to the evidence.

The court reasoned that a charge pursuant to section 50 could be based on allegations of sexual exploitation that were incapable of particularisation, or on allegations of sexual offences that were capable of sufficient particularisation, or a combination of both. The court held that the manner in which such allegations were charged was a matter for the Director of Public Prosecutions. Applying this interpretation, the court concluded that the verdict in the matter was not unreasonable.

Both grounds of appeal were dismissed, and the appeal was dismissed. The name of the appellant was suppressed from publication pursuant to section 69A of the Evidence Act 1929 (SA) to prevent identification of the victim.