Jury Trials Return to NSW After a 3-Month Freeze
By Poppy Morandin & Jimmy Singh. With COVID-19 related restrictions easing and business seemingly returning to normal for most of New South Wales, the District Court has begun criminal trials before juries again. The return will be done under strict measures including temperature checks and screening questions for jurors, in order to prevent individuals ...continue reading
How Does COVID-19 Affect Bail Applications in NSW?
By Fouad Awada and Jimmy Singh. On 30 March 2020, the Supreme Court of New South Wales handed down a decision granting conditional bail to Mr Abdul Rakielbakhour who was accused and charged with serious domestic violence charges. Mr Rakielbakhour was arrested and charged with common assault and assault occasioning actual bodily harm, alleged ...continue reading
What are the Rules Around NSW Police Strip Searching a Person?
241,000 is the number that has been given to NSW Police Officers, representing the quota for conducting personal searches, including strip searches on people for the 2019 financial year. In fact, in 2019, NSW Police failed to meet its quota by just under 2000 searches. NSW Greens managed to obtained the shocking revelation through the ...continue reading
What is a Criminal Lawyers’ Role?
Criminal lawyers represent people from all walks of life. Unfortunately, movies and TV shows have portrayed criminal lawyers in a bad light, prompting members of the public asking the question criminal lawyers get asked too often, “but how can you defend a criminal?”, or “how can you defend a guilty person?”. Too often we ...continue reading
Laws, Penalties & Defences for Child Grooming Offences in NSW
Simon Akkerman who is an accomplished cinematographer, who’s worked on Russel Crowe’s film Master & Commander has been charged with historical child grooming offences. It is reported that 63-year-old Akkerman was charged with 8 counts of indecency with a child aged under 14 that occurred nearly 30-years ago. It’s reported that he sexually abused ...continue reading
Legal Penalties, Defences and Charges for Sexual Intercourse with a Child Between 10 & 14 in NSW
It is reported that father of three, Brett David Hill grabbed and abducted an 11-year-old school girl who was walking to school in Newcastle. After abducting her, Hill had repeatedly raped the girl at 3 different locations for over 5-hours in Newcastle. During the terrifying experience, Hill had also threatened to harm and kill ...continue reading
Penalties for a Teacher Having Sex with an Under-Age Student
It is reported that on or about 16 October 2019, 36-year-old Texas high school teacher, Randi Chaverria allegedly performed oral sex on a student in her classroom on two occasions at the Round Rock High School during her employment there. Chaverria who was a family and consumer science teacher was awarded ‘Teacher of the ...continue reading
The Law & Penalties for Engaging in Sexual Activity or Intercourse with a Child Outside Australia
It is reported that 33-year-old convicted paedophile Richard Huckle was discovered dead in his prison cell in Yorkshire on 13 October. Reports indicate that Huckle was stabbed to death. While his death was confirmed by a prison service spokesman, police are still investigating the suspicious death. Richard Huckle was a photographer and held an ...continue reading
The Law on Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child in NSW
49-year old Brett Hill has grabbed, abducted and repeatedly raped an 11-year old girl over a 5-hour period as she walked to school. It is reported that on 12 June 2018, the 11-year old girl who cannot be named was walking to school in Adamstown Heights, Newcastle when she was grabbed as she walked ...continue reading
What’s the Penalties Under the Law for Child Sexual Assault in NSW?
It’s reported that a 55-year-old man from Queensland has allegedly had sexual intercourse with a girl when she was 13-years of age which caused her to then conceive a baby boy born in mid of 1995. The baby boy’s dead body was then discovered in a caravan park only hours after his birth in ...continue reading