An audit of sexual assault prosecution in NSW was found without systematic problems after a judge criticized the “priceless” rape allegation.
The review was conducted by the Public Prosecutor’s Office and ordered by its Supreme Prosecutor Sally Dowling, which found that 97% of its sexual assault cases heard last eight months, reached The necessary criteria for prosecution.
This comes after some district court judges publicly criticized Dowling’s office for handling sexual assault cases, and after a rare quarrel between senior prosecutors and judges.
A judge raised concerns about “opacity, even secret policies” that led to early rape of prosecutors. Meanwhile, another recorded his “deep concern” in December that the ODPP has unwritten policies or expectations that should “not conduct a wise and rational trial of the complainant.”
However, the audit initiated was to ensure that the guidelines were followed, inconsistent with the judge’s concerns, and when prosecutors decided whether to continue prosecution of sex crimes, they found “consistently high standards of legal analysis.”
It found that of the 327 matters considered prosecution, the guidelines appropriately applied 316 guidelines. Of the 11 without proper application, 5 were tried, while 6 were suspended for reasons of evidence or disposal by discontinuation – including reasons such as the complainant, inability to continue mentally for physical reasons .
“There is no misconduct or serious violation,” the report said.
The report found that there were no appropriate application guidelines on legal and de facto complex issues, including consent issues and complainant poisoning.
The audit report has not identified any “systemic flaws” and the ODPP’s operating procedures in prosecuting sexual assault cases are “strong and effective”.
The report said 17 out of 327 cases were interrupted, with nine of them suspending production on evidence-based basis, and eight were suspended at a combination of discretion and evidence.
“The percentage of production suspensions in 2024 is consistent with the average disruption rate for sexual assaults from 2018 to 2023,” the report said.
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Despite these findings, the audit identified areas of improvement, including further training and guidance on consent law, poisoning and evidence issues, which may be due to the complexity of these laws.
It also recommends additional review of sexual assault cases and allegations at the arraignment stage before trial.
Among the criticisms raised by the District Court judge, one who said “every valuable process” delayed the resolution of “more valuable claims.”
In December, another district court judge heard a verdict that a suppression order was filed in a sexual assault case, but took a different position. He said the criticism was raised “unfairness” against Dowling, pointing to the allegations reported by some judges by Australians.
Dowling said the review should reassure people.
She said: “The review shows that ODPP is prosecuting sexual assaults under the NSW prosecution guidelines, a set of rules for prosecution that follow thorough consultations with stakeholders, including justice and complainants, including the courts Developed.”
