The Queensland Court of Appeal held that the lapse of time between historical sexual offences (1972-1976) and prosecution in 2000 did not constitute an abuse of process warranting a stay, applying Jago v District Court of NSW and Longman v The Queen. The Court also held that a prior 1980 conviction for other sexual offences did not deprive the applicant of a defence of autrefois convict in respect of the current charges, and that a five-year sentence for multiple counts of indecent dealing, sodomy and rape did not offend the totality principle. The majority held that an order under s 19(1) of the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1945 did not constitute 'punishment' and thus its application to offences predating the provision's commencement did not offend the principle against retrospective criminal penalties, though Williams JA dissented on this point.
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