The Queensland Court of Appeal (majority Williams JA and Dutney J, Byrne J dissenting) dismissed the appeal against conviction for rape where the appellant entered the complainant's dwelling and had sexual intercourse with her while she mistakenly believed he was her partner. The majority held that carnal knowledge obtained where the complainant was mistaken as to the identity of the person was 'without consent' within the meaning of s 347 of the Criminal Code as it stood in August 1996, applying and extending the principles in Papadimitropoulos v The Queen. Byrne J dissented, holding that on the High Court authority of Papadimitropoulos, fraud as to identity did not vitiate consent to the physical act of intercourse and the conviction was therefore unsafe.
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