Premier Chris Minns promises to meet with victims impacted by Sally Dowling’s rape audit

The NSW Premier says he is willing to ‘immediately’ meet with any rape complainant whose case has been axed at the last minute due to NSW DPP Sally Dowling’s wide-ranging audit.

NSW Premier Chris Minns.

Chris Minns says he is willing to “immediately” meet with any rape complainant whose case has been axed at the last minute because of chief prosecutor Sally Dowling SC’s wide-ranging audit into sexual assault matters.

However, the Premier said he was not concerned about the administration of justice in NSW, despite District Court judge Peter Whitford last week having been removed from presiding over criminal trials amid an ongoing feud between the judiciary and Ms Dowling’s office over how rape cases are run.

Ms Dowling last year announced an audit of up to 400 rape cases committed to trial, after numerous judges criticised her office for prosecuting sexual assault matters they said had no hope of securing a conviction.

The Australian at the weekend revealed that Sydney mother Lauren James and the NSW police had urged the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions to reconsider a decision to drop charges against the man she says raped her, after her case was caught up in the audit.

The Australian has used a pseudonym to protect her identity.

Lauren has written to NSW ­Attorney-General Michael Daley, NSW Women’s Minister Jodie Harrison and Mr Minns raising concerns about the conduct of the ODPP. She wrote to Mr Daley at the beginning of the month, and reached out to Mr Minns and Ms Harrison 10 days ago.

As of Monday morning, none of the ministers had responded.

In the letters, she expressed “serious concerns” about the operation of the ODPP, requested to meet with ministers and said the ODPP’s conduct “discourages victims from reporting sexual assaults and erodes confidence in the ODPP’s commit­ment to justice”.

“I urge you to investigate these breaches and ensure that the ODPP adheres to its guidelines and obligations,” she wrote in her letter to Mr Daley on July 9.

“The public deserves transparency and accountability from the institutions meant to protect them.”

Lauren said there had been a “troubling trend” of the ODPP discontinuing cases “with strong evidence, seemingly due to recent political and media pressure”.

She accused prosecutors of “misleading victims” and said she was encouraged by solicitors acting for the crown to reject a plea deal, only to have them drop ­charges altogether.

“The ODPP’s actions not only violate the prosecutors’ guidelines but also undermine public trust in the justice system,” she wrote.

“The decision to discontinue my trial appears to be a reaction to recent media attention rather than a reflection of the evidence or with the law.

“Such conduct discourages victims from reporting sexual assaults and erodes confidence in the ODPP’s commitment to justice.”

NSW Director of Public Prosecutions Sally Dowling SC.

In her letter to Ms Harrison, Lauren said she feared “for the safety of every person in NSW”.

“In my case the accused agreed to plea for 2 out of 8 charges,” she wrote. “Now as a result of the scrutiny, 6 weeks out from trial which was commited (sic) in November 2023, they have axed it.”

Asked on Monday whether he planned to meet with Lauren, Mr Minns said he would “immediately make a representation to my office to find out about this letter”.

“If anyone in that situation wanted to meet me, of course I would, and I’d do that as a matter of course,” he said.

“It’s difficult for me to comment about the specifics of the case having not reviewed it, but anyone that was put in that situation who’s going through that ordeal and needs or wants to speak to the highest levels of NSW government, I’d do that immediately.”

Mr Minns was also asked about Judge Whitford no longer presiding over criminal trials, and whether he had concerns about how justice was being administered in his state.

Ms Dowling had filed a complaint against Judge Whitford after he criticised her office for “time and time again” running sexual assault cases that have no hope of securing a conviction.

The NSW District Court was told this week that Judge Whitford had been benched from presiding over criminal hearings, as reported in The Daily Telegraph. The exact reason was not revealed.

“There’s well-established processes by which the DPP interacts with the NSW judiciary,” Mr Minns said.

“There’s also a separation of powers, and those bodies largely regulate themselves.”

Mr Daley and Ms Harrison were contacted for comment.