Overturning a Jury Verdict: The Case of M v The Queen
For centuries, juries have played an important role in criminal trials, scrutinising all the evidence that is presented by both sides before attempting to reach a unanimous verdict. But is a jury’s verdict always the end of the matter -...
Should We Help Those Who Are Attracted to Children?
Child sex offenders are regarded with great disdain by the general public, with many suggesting that we should ‘lock’em up and throw away the key’, or even castrate or execute them. But when it comes to those who admit being...
Honest and Reasonable Mistake About Age in Child Sex Cases
Imagine this: You’re 17 or 18 years old and go out one night to a party with some friends, where you meet a person who says they are 16. You start chatting to them, one thing leads to another and...
Teacher’s Wrongful Conviction Finally Overturned
In the carefree days of 1979, things were a bit different from the way they are now. Teachers could take students on excursions and camps without other adults being present to keep an eye on things. They could be in...
Which State is the Toughest on Crime?
A new Report by the Judicial Commission of NSW shows that sentences imposed in NSW are generally harsher than sentences for similar crimes in Victoria and Queensland. The Report looked at the period 2006 to 2013 and focussed on five...
Cardinal George Pell to Face the Music
Allegations that Cardinal George Pell tried to cover up abuse by bribing a victim to keep quiet have once more been thrust into the spotlight at the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. Cardinal Pell has strongly...
Life Imprisonment for Child Sex Offenders
Convicted child sex offenders will face life in prison under new laws currently before NSW Parliament. NSW Attorney General Gabrielle Upton has introduced a bill to impose the harsher penalty, saying that sentences that handed-down in these cases don’t align...
Police Report an ‘Explosion’ in Online Child Sex Offences
A 47-year-old man has been charged with committing 145 child sex offences on 28 children, including 8 counts of ‘grooming a child under 16 to procure engagement in sexual activity’ in what has been described as one of the most...
Should the Child Sex Offender Register be Made Public?
For some people, no level of restrictions on those who have committed child sex offences can be too much. Many call for convicted child sex offenders to be shamed and persecuted for life, or worse. But while public safety is...
Should Headmaster Face Charges for Sexual Abuse Cover-Up?
Royal Commission hearings into the handling of allegations of indecent assault at prestigious Sydney boys’ school Knox Grammar have been told that a former headmaster deliberately withheld information from police about allegations of paedophilia. The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses...
