The Court of Appeal held that convictions for incest under s 222(1) of the Criminal Code (Qld) involving an uncle and niece could not stand because, at the time of the offences, the uncle-niece relationship was not within the 'prohibited relationship' categories under s 23B(2) of the Marriage Act 1961, meaning the parties were 'persons entitled to be lawfully married' and thus excluded from the offence by the statutory exception. The Court also set aside a notice of abandonment filed by the appellant to prevent a miscarriage of justice, following R v Wade [2011] QCA 289, and entered verdicts of acquittal on all counts.
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