R v Porter (No 2)

The offender, Stephen James Porter, was charged with engaging in a sexual relationship with a child under special care, producing child exploitation material, possessing child exploitation material, and grooming a young person with the intention of making it more likely that the young person would commit or take part in an act of a sexual nature. Porter pleaded guilty to all counts but disputed the facts in relation to the sexual relationship with a child, Wesley Mason. The Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory held a disputed facts hearing to determine the number of occasions the offender engaged in sexual activity with the complainant and the number of times penile-anal intercourse occurred. The prosecution contended that the offender engaged in sexual activity with the complainant between 35 and 45 times, while the offender contended that sexual activity occurred between 14 and 15 times. In relation to the number of times penile-anal penetration occurred, the prosecution contended that it occurred on every occasion of sexual activity after the first such occasion, whereas the offender contended that it occurred on two occasions only. The Court found that the complainant presented as an honest and impressive witness and found his evidence to be truthful. The Court found the offender's evidence to be deceptive and found that the offender engaged in sexual activity with the complainant on at least 35 occasions and that each occasion, bar the first, involved penile-anal intercourse as part of the sexual activity engaged in thereafter.