R v SLD

[2024] NSWDC 481

District Court

New South Wales

• Amendment notes

Medium Neutral Citation:

R v SLD [2024] NSWDC 481

Date of orders:

30 September 2024

Decision date:

30 September 2024

Jurisdiction:

Criminal

Before:

Fitzsimmons SC DCJ

Decision:

In accordance with s 15A Children (Criminal Proceedings) Act 1987 there is to be a prohibition on the publishing or broadcasting of the accused's name with respect to these proceedings.

Catchwords:

CRIME – procedural ruling – non-publication order -

Legislation Cited:

Children (Criminal Proceedings) Act 1987, s 12

Crimes (High Risk) Offenders Act 2006, s 15A

Category:

Procedural rulings

Parties:

Rex
SLD

Representation:

Counsel:
Mr D Bhutani (accused)

Solicitors:
Director of Public Prosecutions (NSW) (Crown)
Ryan Payten Le Lawyers (accused)

File Number(s):

2023/00337580

Publication restriction:

In accordance with s 15A of the Children (Criminal Proceedings) Act 1987 there is to be a prohibition on the publishing or broadcasting of the accused's name with respect to these proceedings.

EX TEMPORE Judgment

1. The accused stands trial with respect to three charges of failing to comply with an extended supervision order in contravention of s 12 of the Crimes (High Risk) Offenders Act 2006. The parties in a joint email, MFI 1, traversed the issue as to the potential non-publication of the accused's name, given the nature of the proceedings.

2. Section 15A of the Children (Criminal Proceedings) Act 1987 (the Act) provides as follows:

“15A Publishing and broadcasting of names prohibited

(1) The name of a person must not be published or broadcast in a way that connects the person with criminal proceedings if--

(a) the proceedings relate to the person and the person was a child when the offence to which the proceedings relate was committed, or

(b) the person appears as a witness in the proceedings and was a child when the offence to which the proceedings relate was committed (whether or not the person was a child when appearing as a witness), or

(c) the person is mentioned in the proceedings in relation to something that occurred when the person was a child, or

(d) the person is otherwise involved in the proceedings and was a child when so involved, or

(e) the person is a brother or sister of a victim of the offence to which the proceedings relate, and that person and the victim were both children when the offence was committed.

(2) This section applies only to the publication or broadcast of a person's name to the public, or a section of the public, by publication in a newspaper or periodical publication, by radio or television broadcast or other electronic broadcast, by the Internet, or by any other means of dissemination.

(3) The publication of information to an Internet website that provides the opportunity for, or facilitates or enables, dissemination of information to the public or a section of the public (whether or not the particular publication results in the dissemination of information to the public or a section of the public) constitutes the publication of information to the public or a section of the public for the purposes of this section.

(4) This section applies to the publication or broadcast of the name of a person--

(a) whether the publication or broadcast occurs before or after the proceedings concerned are disposed of, and

(b) even if the person is no longer a child, or is deceased, at the time of the publication or broadcast.

(5) A reference in this Division to the name of a person includes a reference to any information, picture or other material that identifies the person or is likely to lead to the identification of the person.

(6) A reference in this Division to a person who appears as a witness before a court in any criminal proceedings includes a reference to a child who gives evidence in the form of a recording in proceedings in accordance with Division 3 of Part 6 of Chapter 6 of the Criminal Procedure Act 1986 .

(6A) A reference in this Division to criminal proceedings includes a reference to a hearing under Part 4C of the Children (Detention Centres) Act 1987 .

(7) A person who publishes or broadcasts the name of any person the publication or broadcasting of which is prohibited by this section is guilty of an offence.

: Maximum penalty--500 penalty units (in the case of a corporation) or 50 penalty units or imprisonment for 12 months, or both (in any other case).

(8) Proceedings for an offence against this section that are brought before the Local Court must be commenced within 2 years of the date of the alleged offence.”

3. By way of background, in 2002 the accused was convicted and sentenced for the offence of murder involving the death of a three-year-old. At the time of the offence the accused was aged 13 years, 10 months. Following his release, the accused was held by the Supreme Court to be a high-risk violent offender and was ultimately issued with an extended supervision order on 18 August 2023. One of the conditions of that order was that the accused was not to associate with anyone he knew or reasonably should have known was under 18 other than incidental contact in a public place in the course of duties of the minor or with written permission of a Departmental Supervising Officer (DSO) and in accordance with the requirements reasonably determined by a DSO including that the contact takes place in the presence of an adult as being writing‑approved by the DSO.

4. It is alleged that the accused contravened these orders on three occasions on the same day in October 2023. It is the agreed position between the parties that the accused's name should not be published or broadcast to the extent he is identified by reference to the murder offence. However, the Crown contends that the accused's name can otherwise be published or broadcast by reference to his failure to comply with an extended supervision order.

5. Counsel for the accused contends that the effect of s 15A of the Act is that there is an ongoing prohibition on the accused's name being published or broadcast in any way in relation to these proceedings. It is contended that this is consistent with the terms of s 15A(1) of the Act in that the naming of the accused must necessarily occur in circumstances where it connects the accused with the criminal proceedings being the conviction, sentence, and subsequent supervision order arising from the murder at a time when the accused was a child.

6. I am satisfied that the effect of s 15A of the Act, as contended for by the accused, is such that there is an ongoing prohibition under s 15A of the publishing or broadcasting of the accused's name at all in relation to this trial. To the extent that there is any ambiguity in the terms of s 15A of the Act, the contention of the Crown in a practical sense is not capable of being put into effect. If what the Crown contends is correct, the media would be permitted to publish or broadcast the accused's name in the context of failing to comply with an extended supervision order but would otherwise be prohibited in naming the accused as to the circumstances of such an order, namely that it follows the conviction of the accused for murder whilst an infant.

7. If such was the case, the clear effect of a publication or broadcast of the accused's name in this trial but otherwise the non-publication in the context of a murder conviction and subsequent extended supervision order would be that in essence the accused's name would be published or broadcast in contravention of s 15A of the Act.

8. Noting that s 15A(4) of the Act provides that the relevant prohibition applies even if the person is no longer a child at the time of the publication or broadcast, I am satisfied that there remains in place a non-publication order of the accused's name.

Orders

1. In accordance with s 15A of the Children (Criminal Proceedings) Act 1987 there is to be a prohibition on the publishing or broadcasting of the accused's name with respect to these proceedings.

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Amendments

17 October 2024 - Coversheet - correction to Before field.

18 July 2025 - 18 July 2025 - Corrections to paragraphs 7 and 8.

Decision last updated: 18 July 2025