WGC v The Queen

Criminal law – Offences - Elements of offence - Information - Section 49(3) of the Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935 (SA) ("the Act") created the offence of having sexual intercourse with a person of or above the age of 12 years and below the age of 17 years - Section 49(4) of the Act provided a defence to the offence when the complainant was of or above the age of 16 years and the accused believed on reasonable grounds that the complainant was of or above the age of 17 years - The Particulars of Offence alleged that the appellant had sexual intercourse with the complainant when she was aged 13 - The appellant alleged that sexual intercourse occurred when the complainant was aged 16 and that he believed on reasonable grounds that she was of or above the age of 17 years - The jury convicted the appellant - Whether the date of the offence was a material particular that had to be proved beyond reasonable doubt - Relevance of the conduct of the trial to whether the date was a material particular - Relevance that the elements of the offence were admitted - Whether the prosecution should have amended the Particulars of Offence to allege alternative dates - Whether the defence in s 49(4) of the Act was available to the offence as alleged in the Particulars of Offence.

Criminal law – Jury verdicts - Whether the verdicts were uncertain because it cannot be known whether the jury convicted the appellant for an offence committed when the complainant was aged 13 or 16 - Whether the verdicts were uncertain because different jurors may have reached the verdict by different processes of reasoning - Whether the trial judge misdirected the jury.

Criminal law – Sentencing - Jury verdict - Basis for sentencing when jury have two routes to conviction and one involves less serious culpability.

Words and phrases – "Information", "material particular", "Particulars of Offence".

Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935 (SA) – ss 49(3), 49(4).