R v Campbell CA82/04

In the case of R v Campbell, the appellant was convicted in the Gisborne High Court of multiple charges, including the rape of V, and the indecent assault and inducing a girl to do an indecent act involving both V and K. The appellant appealed solely against his conviction for rape. The central issue before the Court of Appeal of New Zealand was whether the appellant's conviction for rape was unreasonable or unsupported by the evidence, and whether fresh evidence could be considered to show that the offence could not have passed unnoticed.

The Court found that the evidence presented by the appellant to support his claim that he was never alone with V and that the offence could not have gone unnoticed was not new or unavailable at the time of the trial. The appellant had ample opportunity to locate and present these witnesses during the period between his police interview in October 2002 and the trial in December 2003. The Court also held that the statutory test for a verdict being unreasonable or unsupported by the evidence was not met, as the jury, acting reasonably, could not have entertained a reasonable doubt about the appellant's guilt based on the evidence presented, including his admission in a video interview of inappropriate behaviour with V.

Consequently, the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal against the conviction. The notice of appeal was filed three days out of time, but leave to appeal was granted. The appeals against both conviction and sentence were dismissed. The Court emphasised that the jury's determination of witness credibility and the weight of evidence is not to be interfered with by the appellate court, unless the verdict is clearly unreasonable.