Complaints of sexual offending made 13-15 years after the event may be admissible under s 66(2)(b) of the Evidence Act 2008 (Vic) where the nature of the offending (extreme pain, fear, traumatic impact) supports the conclusion that the complainant's memory remained fresh, applying R v Bauer. A complaint made approximately 20 years after the event is of doubtful admissibility but may be saved where contextual circumstances revived vivid recollection. Where defence counsel had legitimate forensic reasons for not objecting to complaint evidence at trial — particularly where the defence was mistaken identity rather than fabrication — the failure to object will preclude a successful appeal ground based on admissibility.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 3 later cases that cite this judgment.
1 of the 3 citing cases carry a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.