Guilty of rape but no jail time: How the court system is failing young women | 60 Minutes Australia

I feel like I've been murdered but my body is alive. It was the worst night of my life. These brave

women

went through hell when he

rape

d me, took a piece of me with him and they had enough. Did you get justice? No, The

system

failed me when I reached 60 Minutes. The trial was more traumatic than the actual rap. My character was being judged. His attackers were found

guilty

but not imprisoned. Community service. Are you kidding? There is a problem on the face. What is happening with our justice

system

? Can you understand why plaintiffs feel like they are on trial?

They are not in

court

. Is it necessary to change him so he can go hug some puppies and is that considered Justice? That's next on 60 Minutes. His damning statistics are one in five

women

in Australia. The age of 15 has experienced sexual violence, but only 13% of sexual assaults are reported and the numbers are getting even worse. Few of those cases make it to

court

and even fewer end in a conviction. It is not surprising that many survivors of these attacks accuse the justice system. system causing more harm than good, but as you will see tonight some women have had enough and are fighting bravely to force change and a warning that they face some of the issues raised in this story tonight was the worst night of my life.

It forever changed who I am and if Herma spread it to me, confronting her rapist in court takes enormous courage, but Meline Lane was determined to get justice for the assault that changed her life. This crime turned me into a shell of myself. I felt so ashamed when he

rape

d me, he took a part of me with him and I will never get that part back Emily Campbell Ross knows her life will never be the same but she won't give up either after surviving sexual assaults and grueling tests Emily and Maddie They are continuing to fight.

The trial was more traumatic than the actual rape. This is a court of law. Do you feel like you have justice here? No, the system failed me. It is the supreme injustice. Despite being convicted, neither Maddie nor Emily's rapists spent a single night behind bars. These brave women are calling for change so that others don't have to endure the same pain. I didn't think the system actively looked down on women. I didn't think the system actively decriminalized rape because community service before is a slap in the face. Mar Lane was a lively and independent 27-year-old who lived life to the fullest.

I was very adventurous and outgoing and had been to 33 countries, so I had traveled a lot, but one night in April 2020 would destroy everything Maddie had ever known her for. rapist via the online dating app Tinder, after exchanging messages, the couple decided to meet up for a casual night out, but Maddie made it clear that sex wasn't part of the plan, so if you want a hookup, I'd rather be sincere. she's not your girl and we wouldn't have sex tonight or when C sh, so that's what you're looking for. I wouldn't want to waste our

time

and then he said no, I respect that you prefer it that way.

As long as I have the chance to hug you tonight, I will be happy. So what did you expect from going to his house that night? I expected that we were going to see a movie together, we were going to order takeout, we were going to smoke. a joint and then we were going to go to sleep and then I would leave the next morning and what was the reality, it started out like the expectations I had there, we ordered takeout, hit the joint, watched the movie um and it felt good to go . with until we went to the bedroom and there were in your evidence some sexual acts that you consented to yes, we did some sexual acts during that night um I mean sensational, we never discussed them do you feel there might have been some confusion about it? your consent or lack of consent I made it very clear and just before the assault he went and got condoms out of his wardrobe and I asked him what he was doing and he said, "I'm buying a condom" and I told him why aren't we having sex. tonight and he dry humped me for a few

minutes

and then broke his promise and put it inside me and how you responded at that moment.

At first I froze, but I fought. I started pressuring him and slapping him saying please, stop, please. Don't do this, I don't want this, Emily's attack shattered her sense of self and her initial hopes for a bright future, that little spark that Emily gave me was demolished, I was absolutely ruined and at

time

s over the next few months, I kind of wished he had killed me, her rapist was a friend she had dated before, he came over and I made dinner. He was quite intoxicated when, you know, he smoked marijuana and he had Amal nitrate, which is also known as jungle juice. um and he, I had never tried that before and he was like, "Try this, so I tried it and it hit me like a freight train, like I was like, oh, I'm no good, I'm really no good, so "You were." drunk and high and you went to bed alone he stayed downstairs to smoke marijuana when you woke up what was happening his hands were in my pants and I knew he knew what was coming how did you react at that moment?

I remember thinking this was going to change my entire life. I am now a rape victim physically. I saw the impact the assault had on my body, from the pain I felt between my legs to the blood stain on my sheets. I was so terrified by the thought of him being in me in the weeks that followed, that no matter what he did, I couldn't feel him clean. Diary entries from that time detail the agony Emily endured. I feel like I was murdered, but my body was left alive, but incredibly the worst was. Yet to Come Emily and Maddie reported their assaults to the police and charges were filed.

They thought they were on the path to justice, but the system they hoped to protect them broke them. The trial was more traumatic than the actual rape. I felt like my character was being judged, but as you'll see in the courtroom, every story has two sides and defense attorneys make no apologies for the fact that they have a difficult job to do, essentially what you're doing is, uh, you are starting from the position. It didn't happen, it's been almost 4 years since M Lane was sexually assaulted, but she is convinced that she is not a once a month victim.

Maddie meets with survivors of sexual violence, so I'll start so you guys have an idea. Hello, I'm Madia. Hi mom, where I am in my healing journey is that I have been through the whole process, so I was assaulted in 2020. It is a safe space to support each other and vent about the trauma of the court process and myself. I'm starting to advocate for change with the process. Because I don't think the experience was good enough. Did you know what you were embarking on? People tried to warn me that it would be a very difficult and long process, but I didn't have to. idea of ​​what the leader said was traumatic and it was horrible the cross examination was by far the most difficult part of that experience no one wants to sit in a room full of strangers reliving the worst night of their life which is not a pleasant experience why do it would do?

Does anyone want to sit there and be examined like that? Emily Campbell Ross was raped in 2021 and says the criminal trial was worse than the assault. The scrutiny and cross-examination in the courtroom was immensely emotionally draining, triggering feelings of shame, guilt and self-doubt about what was the most traumatic part of the trial process. The defense team's questions were in Consulting. They asked me what I was wearing. position. They asked me to describe what I was wearing. They asked me about my drug and alcohol use. Even at one point. I just said: may I suggest that you were giving your consent?

How insulting is that I understand you have a job to do but you are talking to someone who is very traumatized and that is very offensive but that is what defense laws do I guess in almost 40 years as a Criminal Defense Lawyer in Victoria Sexual assault expert John Desmond has questioned thousands of victims and represented thousands of alleged rapists. It must be hard work, difficult work, defending alleged sex offenders day in and day out, it's a challenge, it's a privilege, you know? We are representing accused people at the most vulnerable time of their lives, where the consequences are serious.

I mean, they will most likely be imprisoned and for a long time, if these charges are proven, how important is it to you to be able to cross thoroughly? examining a complainant, I mean, cross-examination is the only tool the lawyer has to prove the complainant's allegations. I mean, limitations are imposed and they are appropriate. Hopefully it is done in a respectful way and I want to say that the process is not about traumatizing, re-traumatizing or further traumatizing a complaint. What I was wearing had absolutely nothing to do with the decision to rape me. She could have been wearing a full nun outfit.

He still would have done what he did. Can you understand why complainants feel like they are on trial, well they are not on trial, it is the accused who is on trial, but yes I can understand why they feel like they are on trial, they are clearly the main or central witness in the case and because his evidence is being tested. and you, often in a sexual assault trial, they may be the only, or certainly the star witness who is being challenged after the horror of your assault and after a grueling trial. Emily was validated when her rapist was found

guilty

, obtaining the conviction and obtaining the guilty verdict.

When they handed it to me it was like a weight was lifted from my chest and I felt like they believed me, but that sense of justice was short-lived. Incredibly, the judge decided that the man who attacked her would not spend a night behind bars since that was who she was. Her first offense was of good character and he had great prospects for rehabilitation. He was sentenced to 300 hours of community service and ordered to undergo counseling. It was horrible. I sobbed like I thought, Are you kidding me about community service and community service on the spot? you can volunteer at rspca so I can go cuddle some puppies for a few hours and that's considered justice for taking away my right to my own body as if that's not justice.

I just completely lost all faith in the justice system Madd's rapist could have served 14 years with a 7 year non-parole period, instead the judge ruled the crime was just above the low range and the offender of good character sentenced him to 300 hours of community service as part of a 2-year Community Corrections order. An appeal was heard but was unsuccessful, my expectation was that he would be held accountable for his crime. They say they used sexual assault and rape as the second worst crime that can happen, so to me, he was going to go to

jail

, he was going to go to

jail

and I had to think about it. what he did to me while I was sitting there, Both women want to see mandatory prison sentences for convicted rapists nationwide, but defense attorney John Desmond says it's not that simple, some rapes are more serious than others, so that It is a component that the judge has.

There is some consideration to determine what the appropriate disposition will be, but you also have to know a little about the personal background and history of the accused. The man he is going to sentence is a man who has a criminal record. It is a repeat crime. I mean those kinds of questions are very relevant to specific deterrence. Summary offenses dealt with largely in the local court. Indictable crimes largely dealt with in district court when it comes to our criminal justice system. David H has seen it all most serious crimes indictable crimes the sky the limit a former magistrate and barrister these days David teaches law at Gold Coast Southern Cross University and is a strong advocate for legal reform.

He says Madd's case highlights how the current system is not working. Maddie's cross-examination, I mean, she's accused of lying, she's accused of being a fantasist, she's accused of making it all up for her own benefit and that must have been incredibly exhausting and adds insult to injury that after that experience and a statement of victim impact and sentencing that does not include prison which the high court, although found to be manifestly inadequate, did not intervene, so when the judge is wrong, what is the process? Well, in New South Wales, when a judge makes a mistake, there is an appeal process and in this case that occurred, all three judges determined that this ruling was blatantly and obviously wrong, but they exercised their discretion not to interfere with the ruling. .

The bottom line is that he was convicted of rape and was not sent to prison. What message does that convey? sends a message that there is a problem with the legal system as the Australian government seeks to reform the way sexual assault is prosecuted. Could one of our closest neighbors have some solutions? How was she dressed when she arrived at his door? Was that the underwear? she will be allowed into her system. I hope not, in 2 hours andhalf drive from Oakland. Funger is the picturesque gateway to New Zealand's Bay of Islands. This small city has paved the way for a big change in the way the country processes sexual assault cases.

We're here to meet the woman behind the reforms that caught the world's attention. It's nice to see where the magic happens. Yes, this is bang Court. This is where the revolution began. Now you too, do it. Dr Emily Henderson is a former Funger MP, but before entering politics, she worked in the courts as a prosecutor and could see that the way complainants were questioned did more harm than good studies show. I asked the same kinds of questions to rape victims in the 1950s as I do now. That's right, we are behaving like we did in the 1950s and we don't even realize it, armed with no funding but unlimited determination.

Emily said about changing what she saw as the core of the problem. Cross-examination isn't just traumatic. It's all the language and all the suggestibility and all the confusing nonsense that's sort of designed, but we can reduce the stress around the experience. She designed a special training program for judges and defense attorneys to change their attitudes and the way they questioned complainants, so what response did they initially get? They absolutely were. I'm not going to do it, so what you do is how to change a game, you move the goalposts, who controls the game, who did we have to go to to get the lawyers to give up their tricks, who are the judges, so we train the judges. and once we trained the judges, the whole game changed and the lawyers might have complained a little about it, but they had to if they wanted to win, aim differently, that was the real key and is still the key if the judges They accept that.

The techniques actually destroy the quality of the evidence and make the trial less fair overall, so lawyers will accept because it's the only way to keep winning. The funger court made other simpler changes to separate entrances for victims and defendants and a less intimidating environment so that How much has this system impacted the community here? It's huge. What I hope we see is that more victims and complainants will find it easier and happier to come forward because one of the big problems we all have is that, uh, people. They are too scared to go to court as they know that the number of cases reported to us is minuscule compared to the number that is actually happening.

Defense lawyer John Desmond acknowledges the Australian system could be less daunting, but says the real trauma comes from the testing of the system. evidence and expose inconsistencies and that's the job, well, you have to preserve the right to cross-examine so that the complainant or complainants feel as comfortable as possible so that the process of presenting evidence is not intimidating, but that will reduce trauma. from a complainant who has come forward you said something different to the police you said something different to the magistrate you said something different to your friend can you explain why the narrative has changed? that trauma will still be there and he's not convinced that specialized training is necessary, it's effectively what we have right now with the core group of judges who hear these cases, ultimately you get specialized training on the job, rubbish, you know , I understand that attitude because, as I say, a former lawyer, but we don't know. what we don't know, you know you're doing what you're doing and it seems to be working because as a lawyer you don't really have anyone reflecting reality back to you, so those people walk out of the courtroom and you never see them.

Again, you don't know what happened and you don't really know what else you could be doing differently. I want to ask you some of the questions that have been asked in Australia to see if that would be allowed in Your pilot, um, one of the Brave Victims complainants who spoke to 60 Minutes was asked during interrogation how you were dressed when he arrived at your door. The underwear was that a thong would be allowed in your system. I hope you can't. I don't guarantee it isn't, but in most circumstances that shouldn't be asked because of course what she's really doing is going back to those myths about her asking for it right.

You are wearing a tight top, a short skirt, and a thong. My goodness, the system here at Funger is so successful that it has been incorporated into every court in New Zealand and has attracted attention from around the world. What it has shown is that even the smallest changes can make a big difference for victims and defendants going through this agony. of a rape trial and that should serve as inspiration to Australians here as our government undertakes a landmark review of how the criminal justice system addresses sexual violence. We are seeing trials that are much shorter because we are managing the cases.

We have judges. that they are actually paying attention to try to speed up trials, we are seeing complainants go through the process feeling more powerful, feeling more respected and feeling good about what they have done and we are seeing police prosecutors and the defense saying This is fair, it's been really magical to see it happen and it wasn't difficult. I think that's what I would say to you guys, it wasn't hard to do. This entire system is flawed, unfair and honestly unfair. No rape survivor should do this. They have to go through an interrogation so that the worst experience of her life is dragged away by Miss 2 years.

Meline Lane was raped on Sydney's north shore by a man she met on Tinder New Zealand. Tinder New Zealand's approach gives hope that our criminal justice system can work better. I think people who work in the courts need to be trained on how to deal with the survivor of sexual assault. It is a crime that affects your entire personality, your body, everything about you changes and therefore they may not know when you are. triggered or you're traumatized and if they just have training to be aware of that and when they push you and things like that, I think it would make a difference a cool place in the picturesque Blue Mountains in New South Wales Emily Campbell Ross is also slowly rebuilding her life after of a process of assault and judgment that almost destroyed her oh it's so beautiful yes it's hard to feel negative when you have a vision like this and knowing what you know now, would you report a sexual assault? through the criminal justice system again I really don't know I don't think I don't think the outcome was worth what I went through, but on the other hand I'm fighting for change.

I'm pushing for change if I can protect one woman from going through this I'm happy with it Hi I'm Amelia Adams Thanks for watching 60 Minutes Australia Subscribe to our channel now for new stories and exclusive clips every week and don't miss our segments of additional

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