AUSTRALIA
ABC News
By Nicole Chettle
Changing the evidence that is admissible in Australian child sexual abuse trials could see more offenders jailed, a British academic has told a royal commission in Sydney.
Professor John Spencer from Cambridge University told the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse that changes to Britain’s Criminal Justice Act in 2003 allowed evidence of a defendant’s “bad character” to be admitted in criminal trials.
Professor Spencer appeared before the commission, which is examining how the criminal justice system handles allegations of sexual abuse, via video link and said the government introduced the measure thinking it would increase the conviction rate.
“I don’t think it has produced any dramatic increase in the conviction rate,” Professor Spencer said.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.