UK backpacker’s rape conviction quashed and retrial ordered after ‘superior DNA test’
THE floodgates have been opened to “many” criminals to appeal their sentences after a UK backpacker found guilty of rape had his conviction quashed and a retrial ordered after a DNA sample was subjected to “superior testing”.
NSW
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A BRITISH backpacker found guilty of rape has had his conviction quashed and a retrial ordered after a DNA sample was subjected to “superior testing” and traces of a second man were detected.
Yesterday the Court of Criminal Appeal quashed Scott Harry Richardson’s conviction after hearing that a crucial DNA sample relied upon by the prosecution had been through a more “discriminatory test” not used in NSW in a move that could have far-reaching ramifications.
The court found the test, carried out by Forensic science SA, was “credible”, “plausible and “compelling” evidence which, had it been available, would have allowed Richardson to mount a different defence.
He is currently serving a minimum two year and three month jail sentence for the alleged sexual assault of a 23-year-old woman he met at a house party in Redfern in December 2015. Richardson was found guilty by a jury of two counts of sexual intercourse without consent following trial involving 18 witnesses in 2016.
During his trial Richardson’s lawyers argued the DNA found in the alleged victim’s vagina was a result of a “secondary transfer”. The Briton told the jury he hugged the alleged victim on a couch but as she was covered in a doona he thought it was someone else.
Now the “Y-filer Plus” test has called his guilt into question. The test, used in South Australia, maps 27 markers on the Y chromosome whereas the “Y-filer” test used by Forenisc Forensic Analytical Science Services (NSW) only maps 17 markers. This allowed for the superior test to pick up two male profiles taken from the alleged victim’s vagina compared to the singular profile originally detected.
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Yesterday the Crown conceded the new analysis “was a more discriminating DNA test than that currently used by the NSW forensic testing service”.
Lawyer Nick Hanna said he expected the case would put pressure on NSW laboratories to now use “Y-filer Plus” tests, which are commercially available to them.
“This appeal represents a watershed moment for criminal investigation in NSW and, more generally, Australia,” Mr Hanna told The Daily Telegraph. “I expect that many people who have been convicted of crimes in cases where the police relied on DNA evidence may now seek to use this superior testing method to launch appeals similar to … Mr Richardson.”
It is expected Richardson will apply for bail in the near future.