No action against Aurukun judge
14.06.2006
NO disciplinary action will be taken against anyone in the Queensland justice system despite two separate reports yesterday slamming the handling of the Aurukun Nine rape case.
Queensland's Court of Appeal yesterday found that Cairns District Court judge Sarah Bradley made several errors of law in not jailing any of the nine males who admitted raping a 10-year-old girl at the Cape York community of Aurukun in 2005.
``These errors were so serious as to produce a clear miscarriage of justice,'' said Queensland Chief Justice Paul de Jersey.
A report by Brisbane barrister Peter Davis SC, which was also released yesterday, found that the prosecution in the Aurukun Nine case was disorganised, ill-prepared and made errors of law.
Mr Davis, whose report examined 71 sexual assault cases on Queensland's Cape York, was also critical of Judge Bradley, but rejected suggestions that she should be removed.
``It should be noted that thereis no evidence of any judicial misconduct by Judge Bradley or any of the other judges whose sentences were reviewed,'' he said.
The Queensland Court of Appeal in Brisbane yesterday sent five of the nine males who raped the girl to jail for terms of up to six years.
Raymond Frederick Woolla, 26, Ian Austin Koowarta, 20, and Michael Sylvester Wikmunea, 19, were all sentenced to six years' jail and will not be eligible for parole until June 2010.
Two other men who were juveniles at the time of the rape and are still under 18 will also serve a period of detention. The youngest offender, who was 13, was sentenced to two years' juvenile detention, while another received three years. Convictions were recorded against all six juveniles.
The Aurukun Nine case attracted worldwide attention and condemnation when it was revealed by The Australian in December last year.
Queensland Attorney-General Kerry Shine appealed against the sentences on the ground they were manifestly inadequate, and yesterday's decision was the culmination of that appeal.
Judge Bradley was criticised when it was revealed she took just 45 minutes to hear the charges against seven of the accused and impose the sentences. She did not give reasons for the judgment and the court was not presented with a victim impact statement.
Judge Bradley noted: ``The girl involved was not forced and she probably agreed to have sex with all of you. But you were taking advantage of a 10-year-old girl and she needs to be protected, and the girls generally in this community need to be protected.''
Justice de Jersey, who headed the three-judge appeal bench, said the sentencing process had ``miscarried'' as the respondents were not sentenced on a basis that reflected the gravity of the crime.
``The learned sentencing judge erred in treating the respondents `equally in terms of the behaviour','' Justice de Jersey said.
``In a case where, without compelling and articulated reasons, an adult who was 25 years of age is sentenced on the same footing as a 13-year-old boy -- in terms of criminal responsibility -- for raping a 10-year old girl, the lack of disparity bespeaks an error of some kind. The sentencing process can also be seen to have miscarried in that the adult offenders were given fully suspended sentences of six months imprisonment, while the juveniles were given sentences of 12 months probation.''
Justice de Jersey said Judge Bradley had to accept responsibility for the lenient sentences, but added the appeal court judgment also highlighted the workload for justice officials in remote areas.
Mr Davis's review found prosecutor Steve Carter, who has since resigned, was ill-prepared for the Aurukun case and made errors of law. He revealed Mr Carter had wrongly told his superiors the Queensland Government's response to Aboriginal deaths in custody, and its bid to reduce the number of indigenous inmates, ``was a factor to be taken into account by those involved in the process of sentencing indigenous offenders''.
``The actual assistance given to the judge in this case was virtually nil,'' Mr Davis wrote.
The Aurukun community in Cape York was quiet following the decision, and arrest warrants will now be issued for the three adults and two juveniles who previously pleaded guilty to the offence.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community legal service spokeswoman Trish Comer said outside the court that the men in the community were ``probably anxious and confused''.
She said an appeal would be considered. ``The community has been divided and troubled by this case, and there will be a lot of difficulty in the coming days,'' she said. In the wake of The Australian's initial revelations about the Aurukun Nine case, Premier Anna Bligh appointed Mr Davis to conduct a review of all sex offence cases in Cape York over the past two years.
