Australia, June 11 -- New South Wales Land and Environment Court issued text of the following judgement on May 12:

1. WARD P: On 9 May 2022, following a judge alone trial before Mahony SC DCJ in the District Court, the applicant (RJ) was found guilty of several counts of sexual offences in relation to his daughter (the complainant) who was aged between 11 and 14 at the time of the alleged offences. The guilty verdicts were for Counts 1-17 and 21; the not guilty verdicts were for Counts 18 and 19 (see Decision restricted [2022] NSWDC 151 (the conviction judgment)). The applicant was also found guilty of one count of assault (Count 20) in relation to his wife (AH).

2. The applicant was sentenced on 10 February 2023 to an aggregate sentence of 12 years with a non-parole period of 8 years, backdated to commence on 9 November 2019.

3. The original indictment had included a count charging an attempt to pervert the course of justice but the hearing of that count was severed by order on 28 February 2022 of Wass SC DCJ (resulting in the separate judge alone trials). Her Honour on 28 February 2022 also ordered that the evidence that supported the attempt to pervert the course of justice count was admissible in the principal trial as evidence of consciousness of guilt. There was no appeal from that ruling and counsel for the applicant on this occasion disavowed any attempt to cavil with that ruling (see AT 12.49-13.4).

4. Following a separate judge alone trial before Neilson SC DCJ, the applicant was found guilty on 7 July 2022 of attempting to pervert the course of justice contrary to s 319 of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW), by soliciting AH to encourage the complainant not to proceed with the prosecution of him with the intention of perverting the course of justice (Decision restricted [2022] NSWDC 285) and, on 8 July 2022, the applicant was found guilty of a related summary offence of knowingly contravening an Apprehended Domestic Violence Order contrary to s 166 of the Criminal Procedure Act 1986 (NSW) (see Decision restricted [2022] NSWDC 335).

5. On 24 February 2023, the applicant was sentenced by Neilson SC DCJ for the offence of attempting to pervert the course of justice and for the related summary offence. For those offences, his Honour imposed an effective term of 2 years' imprisonment with a non-parole period of 16 months. This was partially accumulated on the sentence imposed by Mahony SC DCJ.

6. The total effective sentence for the respective offences was 12 years' imprisonment with a non-parole period of 9 years.

7. The Crown appealed against the leniency of the sentences imposed by both Mahony SC DCJ and Neilson SC DCJ. On 8 November 2023, that appeal was unanimously allowed (R v RJ [2023] NSWCCA 273) (Adamson JA, Basten AJA and Sweeney J). By majority (Basten AJA and Sweeney J), the applicant was re-sentenced to a total term of imprisonment of 17 years with a non-parole period of 12 years and 6 months expiring on 8 May 2032.

8. The applicant now seeks leave pursuant to s 5(1)(b) of the Criminal Appeal Act 1912 (NSW) (Criminal Appeal Act) to appeal his convictions for those offences dealt with by Mahony SC DCJ (to whom I will refer as the trial judge). That notice of appeal has been filed out of time and therefore an extension of time is required. The applicant does not appeal from his conviction for the attempt to pervert the course of justice offence. Nor does he appeal from the sentences ultimately imposed on him.

*Rest of the document can be viewed at: (https://www.caselaw.nsw.gov.au/decision/196af870d00508212ae05589)

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