By ALESHA CAPONE
A MAN who was convicted of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl in Altona will be able to appeal his prison sentence.
The alleged crime occurred after the 39-year-old defendant met a teenage girl at a petrol station in Sunshine during September 2009.
The young girl and the man allegedly drove towards Altona beach stopping to buy alcohol and condoms on the way.
At the beach car park the man allegedly committed three indecent acts with the girl and also allegedly raped her twice before driving her home.
Following a County Court trial in 2010 the alleged offender was convicted of abducting a child under the age of 16, three charges of an indecent act with a child under 16 and two charges of digital rape.
He was sentenced to five years and six months’ imprisonment with a non-parole period of three years.
However, the Supreme Court of Victoria Court of Appeal recently ordered a new trial of the case, quashed the convictions and granted the alleged offender permission to appeal his sentence.
Three Court of Appeal judges ruled there was a miscarriage of justice in the original trial.
The judges ruled some of the evidence presented to the jury “was inherently confusing and unsatisfactory”.
During the appeal, the alleged offender’s solicitor – appearing on behalf of Victoria Legal Aid – said his client was of Vietnamese origin and spoke limited English.
The solicitor said his client was interviewed by police officers with the assistance of an interpreter during September 2009.
The jury in his first trial were supplied with a written translation of the answers and also saw a DVD recording of the interview.
However, before appealing the case, the alleged offender’s solicitors obtained an independent translation of the interpreter’s questions.
This translation “demonstrated that there were material deficiencies and inaccuracies in the oral translation of the answers” according to court documents.
The court documents also said the alleged offender did not seem to realise he had the right to silence during the police interview.
