Where both the complainant and the accused give clear and unequivocal accounts on the issue of consent — the complainant asserting express refusal and the accused asserting express consent — there is no evidentiary basis for a 'middle ground' honest and reasonable mistake defence under s 24 of the Criminal Code (WA). A statement in a document only becomes admissible under s 79C of the Evidence Act 1906 (WA) upon formal production of the document to the court; cross-examination of a witness about the document's contents does not satisfy this requirement.
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