Indecent assault charge dismissed after a two-day trial, with a substantial costs order made in our client’s favour
Published July 2026
A consensual ‘friends with benefits’ relationship later became the setting for an indecent assault prosecution that placed a 26-year-old man’s reputation, criminal record and future at serious risk.
Our client had no prior criminal convictions and had initially engaged another lawyer before seeking a change in representation in the months leading up to trial. By then, the charge had already been hanging over him for some time and the prospect of being convicted of a sexual offence was understandably causing significant concern.
The allegation arose from a sexual encounter with a woman with whom he had previously been in a casual sexual relationship. They had known each other for some time and had engaged in consensual sexual activity during that arrangement. The history between them was therefore important context, but it did not determine the issue. The question for the Court was whether the particular sexual activity the subject of the charge had occurred with the complainant’s consent. After a period without sexual contact, the pair resumed communicating online. The complainant later invited our client to her home to catch up. According to our client, the interaction that followed developed naturally from their previous relationship. He maintained that the complainant’s words, behaviour and physical interaction led him to understand that she was receptive to sexual activity. Sexual activity then occurred. From the outset, our client’s position was clear and consistent: the encounter had been consensual.
What happened after the encounter was also important. In the days that followed, the pair continued exchanging online messages. Those communications did not suggest that the complainant had felt uncomfortable, objected to what had occurred or believed that our client had crossed a sexual boundary. That material became part of the broader evidentiary picture when the allegation was later investigated.
Several months after the encounter, our client was charged with committing a sexual act without consent. He participated in a lengthy police interview and maintained throughout that the sexual activity had been consensual. By the time he came to us, the matter was approaching trial. We reviewed the prosecution brief in detail, including the complainant’s account, our client’s police interview and the online communications between the parties. That review led us to form the view that our client had strong prospects of successfully defending the charge. The case ultimately proceeded to a two-day trial in the Magistrates Court.
As with many sexual offence prosecutions, the outcome depended heavily on the credibility and reliability of the complainant’s account. There was no simple forensic answer to the central issue of consent. The Court was required to assess the evidence carefully, including the history between the parties, the circumstances surrounding the encounter, what was said and done at the time, and the communications that followed. The complainant was cross-examined about her account and the surrounding circumstances.
Our client elected to give evidence and provided what we considered to be a compelling and consistent account of the encounter. His evidence remained that the sexual activity had been consensual and that nothing in the complainant’s conduct at the time suggested otherwise to him. After hearing the evidence, the Magistrate found that the complainant was not a credible witness. The charge was dismissed and a judgment of acquittal was entered.
The acquittal was particularly significant given the nature of the allegation. A conviction for a sexual offence can have consequences extending far beyond the sentence imposed by the Court, including serious reputational, professional and personal effects.
We also made an application for costs on our client’s behalf and secured a substantial costs order in his favour.
The result brought the prosecution to an end without a conviction being recorded against our client. After facing the uncertainty and stigma of a sexual offence allegation, he was able to move forward with his criminal record and reputation intact.
The case also demonstrated the importance of examining the whole of the evidence in a contested consent prosecution. The history between the parties, their communications, their conduct before and after the alleged offence, and the credibility of the evidence given at trial can all be critical to the final outcome.