The Snitch: DPP Sally Dowling SC hits back at judge over rape case criticisms

What did DPP say after a judge accused her of running weak cases? Which racing identity had an unusual fashion collection in their home? And what’s The Office reference in a Sydney gangland murder? The Snitch is here.

Director of Public Prosecutions Sally Dowling SC has hit back at the latest in a growing line of judges who have accused her office of running weak rape cases that were doomed to fail.

This week Judge Peter Whitford SC, while awarding costs to a Rozelle man acquitted of rape, attacked the judgement of Dowling’s office and said it appeared that “far too frequently” it was abandoning its own guidelines to examine the merits of a case.

Instead, Judge Whitfield said the prosecuting agency was shovelling weak cases in front of juries in the hope of landing a conviction.

He even suggested there were “opaque” or “even secret” policies within Dowling’s office, which were undermining its function of being able to examine whether a case should be run.

Basically, it’s a slapdown on the level of what Will Smith’s five fingers said to Chris Rock’s face at the 2022 Oscars.

But unlike Rock, Ms Dowling has hit back.

Director of the DPP Sally Dowling.

She refused Snitch’s offer of an interview and instead released a statement.

“The judge’s comments are unfounded and inflammatory, and are unequivocally rejected,” Ms Dowling said in the statement.

“There is no basis for the judge’s suggestion that there has been an increase in the number of sexual assault cases proceeding to trial on insufficient evidence.”

She added that “conviction rates for sexual assault matters in NSW have remained consistent over the past five years.”

But what about the secret policies?

Her statement: “The remarkable assertion by Judge Whitford that there are ‘opaque, even secret policies’ applicable to sexual assault prosecutions, and which operate inconsistently with published prosecution guidelines, is completely baseless and rejected.”

Judge Whitford is the fifth judge in less than a year to raise the issue.

IS IT THE SHOES?

Changing speed slightly, what’s doing with Eddie Hayson’s shoe collection?

The former brothel owner and big time gambling identity was charged this week over an alleged drug smuggling operation, which saw police raid his Gold Coast home.

Eddie Hayson. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

Eddie Hayson’s shoes. Picture: NSW Police

As they do in all arrest raids, police photograph almost every inch of the house for evidentiary purposes.

And some of those pictures are released to the media for the purpose of keeping the good people of Australia informed as to what their tax dollars are being spent on.

One of the pictures featured a cupboard in Hayson’s house that was dedicated to housing a collection of designer high top sneakers.

Now this collection isn’t any old set of posh trainers, it looks likes what the Kardashians would wear if they were in a Mad Max movie.

We’re talking aggressive spikes, glitter and rhinestones stuck on what essentially looks to Snitch like a $100 pair of Converse Chuck Taylors.

There were at least 15 pairs of the shoes in the cupboard and we are reliably informed that they were of the Christian Louboutin and Christian Dior variety.

But what about the price? They apparently go for between $1800 and $4500 per pair.

I think we have a new contender to Fadi Ibrahim’s 7ft-horse lamp statue for the title of the most random photo from a raid.

THE OFFICE

You wouldn’t think some of the most feared criminals in Sydney would be referencing a US sitcom while planning a gangland assassination.

But it looks like that might be the case.

The men accused of murdering drug boss Alen Moradian allegedly placed a series of tracking devices on cars to track him to his hide-out at a Bondi unit complex.

According to court documents, the tracking devices were bought for about $90 on Amazon and featured an online component that required a username and account to be set up.

The user name allegedly chosen by Moradian’s alleged killers was “Michael Scott” and “Michael69”.

It looks to Snitch to be a reference to actor Steve Carrell’s character in the US version of The Office, given that there was no one in the alleged murder crew who went by that name.

Got a snitch? Contact [e-mail]