SA Court of Criminal Appeal increases penalties for corrupt ex-magistrate Bob Harrap and lawyer Catherine Jayne Moyse

An appeals court has increased the jail term being served by a corrupt former magistrate – but if he behaves himself behind bars, he’ll be home for Christmas.

Corrupt ex-magistrate Bob Harrap’s time behind bars has been increased on appeal – but, with good behaviour, he will still be out of prison before Christmas.

In a complex judgment on Wednesday, the Court of Criminal Appeal increased Harrap’s penalty for one of his crimes, but decreased his punishment for two others.

While that resulted in an overall sentence of 21 months – up from his initial 18-month term – his original 12-month non-parole period was not altered.

One of Harrap’s co-accused, however, fared more poorly before the court.

Lawyer Catherine Jayne Moyse had been spared a conviction, and fined $600, for conspiring with Harrap over a case, involving one of her clients, over which he presided.

In a unanimous decision, the court overturned that leniency, recorded a conviction and increased Moyle’s fine tenfold, to $6000.

Former magistrate Bob Harrap. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Brenton Edwards.

Harrap, 61, pleaded guilty to corruption offences over his attempts to avoid demerits for speeding in his government-issued car.

He involved two women, his former clerk, Melanie Jane Freeman, and his SA Police prosecutor girlfriend, Abigail Foulkes, in those offences via long-term grooming and by exploiting his emotional ties with them.

Harrap also pleaded guilty to conspiring to abuse public office by improperly assisting Moyse with a speeding case that came before him for decision.

Moyse is the daughter of corrupt former senior police officer Barry Moyse.

In December, Harrap was jailed for 18 months, with a 12-month non-parole period, while Moyse was spared a conviction and resumed her legal career.

Prosecutors challenged both outcomes as “inadequate”, while Harrap’s counsel filed an appeal of their own insisting his penalty was “manifestly excessive”.

Catherine Jayne Moyse. Picture: Mark Brake.

On Wednesday, Chief Justice Chris Kourakis said he would refuse the prosecution’s appeal on the demerits offences, but allow Harrap’s challenge to those same penalties.

While he would reduce those penalties to six and nine months respectively, he would grant the prosecution’s appeal on the conspiracy with Moyse and increase that term to 15 months.

He said he would impose an overall 15-month non-parole period, but Justices David Lovell and Mark Livesey disagreed.

They said they would also grant Harrap’s appeal against the demerit offence sentences, and reduce them to six and nine months, but impose 12 months for the conspiracy.

That resulted in a final sentence of 21 months for Harrap, with a 12-month non-parole period backdated to December last year, when his bail was revoked.

Outside court, Director of Public Prosecutions Martin Hinton QC declined to comment, saying the judgment was “obviously complex” and he had yet to read the court’s reasons.