R v Newcombe and Barns

In the case of R v Newcombe and Barns, the appellants, Cathy Anne Newcombe and Josephine Joanne Dawn Barns, appealed against their convictions for offences under section 229I of the Criminal Code. They were found in premises where a service known as a "body slide" was provided, with Barns offering the service to an undercover policeman and Newcombe working as a receptionist at those premises. The appellants argued that a body slide was not a sexual act under section 229D, that a genuine belief that the act was not a sexual act constituted a reasonable excuse under section 229I, and that section 229I required a suspicion on reasonable grounds that two or more prostitutes were contemporaneously engaged in the act of prostitution. The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeals, finding that the jury was entitled to conclude that a body slide was a sexual act within the meaning of section 229D, that the reasonable excuse referred to in section 229I was related to the degree of involvement in the purpose of prostitution, and that the engagement in sexual acts by two or more prostitutes did not need to be contemporaneous with the presence of the person at the place. The appeals against conviction were dismissed. The court's decision provides guidance on the interpretation of the term "sexual act" and the scope of the reasonable excuse provision in section 229I, ensuring that the jury's understanding of the relevant terms is appropriately guided by the trial judge.