WA Sexual Assault - Any Recourse under Criminal Law?

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C ME

Member
31 July 2015
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Note: I live in WA but events occurred in Victoria. I was raped when I was 9 years old by a friend of the family's son, and then my brother sexually assaulted me up until about age 13. I was awarded a measly compensatory amount (approx. $23,000) by VOCAT (the Victims of Crime Assistance Tribunal) as it was accepted that these events did in fact occur on a police tapped phone call he admitted he knew what he was doing was wrong but continued to do it anyway. Although when formally interviewed by the same police he denied everything.

My legal question is: do I have any other recourse under criminal law so as to hold him (my brother) to account for the sexual assault crimes he committed against me?
 
S

Sophea

Guest
Hi C ME,

I'm so sorry to hear of your situation!

I believe all time limitations in respect of the prosecution of sex offences have been removed in Vic and most if not all Australian states and territories. Therefore it doesn't matter how long ago the offences were committed you can report it to police. The decision however to investigate and prosecute the crimes is ultimately up to the police. The only difficulty with prosecuting crimes that occurred many years ago is that they are difficult to prove, especially cases of this nature. However if you are prepared to go through the court process and provide your testimony of what occurred there are reasonable prospects of the crown convicting him.

I would encourage you to discuss it with police, or alternatively contact a community legal centre who may be able to assist you in reporting the offence.