Evidence of recent complaint in sexual offence cases may properly be described to the jury as admitted because it is considered in general that persons offended against sexually will complain about it, provided the charge makes clear the evidence is not independent evidence of the offence and is confined to the issue of consistency of the complainant's account. The reasonableness of an accused's belief in consent under s 37(1)(c) of the Crimes Act 1958 (Vic) is a guide to whether the belief was in fact held, not determinative of the question, and the direction should be balanced by making clear the Crown bears the onus of proving the accused's awareness of non-consent.
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