Appeal allowed in sex case involving woman and boy

The Supreme Court has allowed an appeal against a conviction for attempted sexual violation involving a 49-year-old woman and a 15-year-old boy.

The court ruled yesterday that the trial judge's summing-up did not appropriately direct the jury on the ingredients of the crime and could have been construed as a direction to convict when the essential issue was for the jury to decide.

An associated appeal against a conviction for the full offence of sexual violation, which occurred on a different occasion, has been dismissed.

However, the case has been sent back to the Court of Appeal to re-examine the sentence imposed for the full offence as it was designed to reflect the total criminality of both convictions.

In July last year the woman had her jail term raised from 4 years to 5 years.

The Court of Appeal's decision confirmed earlier rulings that crimes of sexual connection were gender neutral. The offences were alleged to have happened in May 2004. The victim was a member of the woman's extended family.

The Solicitor-General had appealed against the woman's sentence, saying it was too short and wrong in principle.

It had effectively been sexual violation by rape and justified the same eight-year starting point as a contested rape case, it was submitted.

The Court of Appeal refused to suggest a fixed starting point for sentences where women forced males to have sex, but it said in the case it had to decide a seven-year or eight-year starting point was appropriate.

It then took into account that the woman had twice been a rape victim herself and had been diagnosed with dissociate episodes, post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.

She had no previous convictions and was generous to her family and community. Name suppression continues for the woman and her victim.

- NZPA