SEXUAL ASSAULT CASE STUDY

Identified under the pseudonym Jake, the appellant was charged by Police with an offence of sexual assault and was initially refused bail as directed by the Police. As per his rights, Police gave Jake the ability to contact a lawyer who can attend court on his behalf and make an application for bail. Unfortunately, Jake’s initial lawyer was not experienced in sexual assault cases and Jake was refused bail by the Magistrate, which left him in custody for 6 months.

A relative of Jake then contacted Benjamin Leonardo – The Defenders, in which our criminal defence and sexual assault lawyer, Leo Premutico took carriage of the matter.

Due to recent amendments relating to the Bail Act, individuals are only allowed one application for bail unless the person can satisfy the Court of one or more of the following:

(a) The person was not legally represented when the previous bail application was dealt with and the person now has legal representation, or
(b) Information relevant to the grant of bail is to be presented in the application that was not presented to the court in the previous application, or
(c) Circumstances relevant to the grant of bail have changed since the previous application was made.

As a leading criminal defence lawyer, Leo was able to successfully persuade the Magistrate that a second opportunity for an application for bail should be permitted, which allowed Jake to be granted bail.

Furthermore, an application for a committal hearing was made which requested the alleged victim to attend and give evidence. Typically, it is very rare that an alleged victim in a sexual assault is ordered to attend Court and give evidence at a committal hearing, however, this application was successful and imperative to help our client.

At the committal hearing, the alleged victim gave evidence and was cross-examined by Leo. Leo was able to demonstrate to the court that the alleged victim, in fact, lied to the Police and other witnesses. Once the alleged victim had completed her evidence, submissions were made to the Magistrate as to why Jake should be discharged.

The dedicated and thorough work of our criminal defence lawyer, Leo was able to achieve a successful outcome for our client Jake. After the committal hearing, Jake was discharged and did not have to face a trial. If the case did go to trial, Jake would have had his fate determined by a jury, in which the outcome may have been significantly different.

If you’re facing a criminal conviction such as sexual assault it is important you seek professional advice from an experienced sexual assault lawyers in Sydney. At Benjamin Leonardo – The Defenders, we are proficient in a variety of traffic and criminal offences such as sexual assault, robbery, drug-related charges, drink driving offences and murder.

For a consultation in regards to your matter, please contact our professional and dedicated team on (02) 9283 3033.