Ugle v The Queen

This matter concerned an application for special leave to appeal to the High Court of Australia. The applicant, who was 18 years old at the time of the alleged offences, faced two charges of sexual penetration with circumstances of aggravation. The complainant was 15 years and 9 months old. The sole issue at the trial in the Supreme Court of Western Australia was whether the acts of sexual penetration were consensual. The complainant did not appear at trial, being in France and unwilling to return.

The legal issue before the High Court was whether the trial judge had erred in admitting the applicant's out-of-court statements to police as evidence of lack of consent, given the applicant's evidence that these statements were made under duress and coercion. The applicant testified that he was interviewed by police for an extended period, felt frightened and overborne, and ultimately agreed with the allegations put to him by the police, which he claimed were based on statements purportedly made by the complainant. The Crown's case, as presented through police evidence, alleged that the applicant had forcibly penetrated the complainant without her consent, using a makeshift condom. The applicant's defence was that the intercourse was consensual, initiated by the complainant, and that he only agreed to the police's version of events due to their pressure.