Where a complainant dies before trial and their committal evidence is admitted under s 65(3) of the Evidence Act 2008, the adequacy of the committal cross-examination is a significant factor in assessing whether a guilty verdict is safe and satisfactory. Inadequate testing of the complainant's account at committal, combined with inconsistencies in the complainant's various accounts and equivocal supporting evidence, may render a conviction unsafe. Under s 110 of the Evidence Act 2008, an accused charged with a sexual offence involving violence cannot lead evidence of good character limited to the absence of prior sexual offences without opening the door to prosecution rebuttal evidence of prior convictions for violence.
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