A preliminary complaint under s 4A of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 1978 (Qld) need not specify particular charged incidents; a general statement of repeated sexual abuse is admissible where unambiguously referable to conduct constituted by or including the charged offences. Evidence ruled inadmissible as a preliminary complaint at a pre-trial hearing may become admissible in re-examination on a different basis — as an explanation for the absence of a timely complaint — where cross-examination has raised the issue of the complainant not telling anyone about the offending.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 4 later cases that cite this judgment.
3 of the 4 citing cases carry a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.