Victor Martin (a pseudonym)[1] v The Queen [No 2]

Victor Martin (a pseudonym) sought leave to appeal against his conviction and sentence in relation to charges of maintaining a sexual relationship with a child under 16, intentionally causing injury, and common assault. The Supreme Court of Victoria considered multiple grounds for appeal, including the scope of the charge, the safety of the verdict, and the imposition of sentence in light of a terminal diagnosis.

The court was required to determine whether the charge of maintaining a sexual relationship with a child spanned too long a period and contained too many occasions, resulting in a miscarriage of justice. It also had to assess whether the verdict was unsafe or unsatisfactory, given that the jury found nine out of eighteen occasions occurred but was not unanimously satisfied of the remaining nine. Finally, the court considered whether the sentence was appropriate in light of the applicant's terminal illness.

The court found that there was no miscarriage of justice, as the charge was a rational forensic decision and the jury's verdict was not unsafe or unsatisfactory. The court also concluded that the evidence the applicant sought to adduce was not fresh and did not have a real likelihood of leading to a different outcome. In relation to the sentence, the court found that the applicant's limited life expectancy constituted fresh evidence, but it was not reasonably arguable that the Court of Appeal would impose a sentence that would give the applicant any hope of being released. Therefore, the application for leave to appeal was refused.