Practitioners should note that the honest and reasonable mistake defence under s24 Criminal Code (WA) will not be left to the jury in sexual offence cases unless there is a sufficient evidentiary foundation — a complainant's apparent compliance or lack of overt resistance alone is insufficient. The case also confirms that consent directions need not draw an explicit distinction between persuasion and psychological overpowering, provided the jury is adequately directed on the statutory definition of free and voluntary consent.
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