‘Rape victims cannot be automatically believed as starting point’: ex-ACT chief prosecutor

Former ACT chief prosecutor Anthony Williamson’s comments come amid a growing civil war in Canberra’s tight-knit legal profession over the handling of rape cases.

Former acting ACT Director of Public Prosecutions Anthony Williamson SC.

Former ACT chief prosecutor Anthony Williamson says a proposition by the territory’s former attorney-general that victims of sexual assault should be believed was a “dangerous one”, amid a growing civil war in Canberra’s tight-knit legal profession over the handling of rape cases.

Former acting Director of Public Prosecutions Mr Williamson, responding to comments made by Shane Rattenbury in the ACT Legislative Assembly last week, said while any allegation of sexual offending should be “listened to and taken seriously by police”, and always carefully and thoroughly investigated, the starting point “cannot be that the victim is automatically believed”.

“Rather, the starting point should be to carefully and objectively weigh and assess all the available evidence to see what conclusion it leads to,” he said.

Mr Rattenbury told the Legislative Assembly the community had a responsibility to listen to victims of sexual assaults and believe them, according to The Canberra Times, which reported the comments last week.

Last month, chief justice of the ACT ­Supreme Court Lucy McCallum declared that she does not understand why jurors “find it so hard to believe” allegations of sexual assault and that she has a “feeling of unease” when it comes to how juries ­approach cases.

In response, the peak ACT barristers body revolted against Justice McCallum, saying the comments may lead people to believe juries are ­“getting it wrong” in sexual ­assault cases.

“The Bar Association is concerned that there may be a perception that parts of the judiciary consider that culture wars or the graphic nature of allegations are seen to be swaying juries such that they are not believing the allegations. Such perceptions ... ought be rejected,” ACT Bar Association president Brodie Buckland said at the time.

Former ACT attorney-general Shane Rattenbury. Picture: Richard Dobson

Mr Rattenbury in the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday said Mr Buckland’s statement was “utter nonsense” and the ACT Bar Association “have an interest in the system believing rape myths because it means that their clients, charged with sexual assaults, are more likely to be found not guilty”.

He added that we needed to “raise awareness that false sexual assault allegations are rare”.

Mr Williamson said while it was correct that “false complaints of sexual offending are rare”, it still occurs.

“That is why the presumption of innocence remains such a critical principle that cannot be eroded in any way,” he said.

“I discontinued a number of sexual offence matters where the available evidence, often including video recordings, mobile phone data, and evidence from other witnesses, showed that the complainant was simply wrong in their account.

“What they alleged simply did not happen.

“It is particularly rare that a complainant will deliberately lie about being sexually assaulted.

“More common are false complaints from a complainant who genuinely believes they are the victim of a sexual offence, but are mistaken for a number of reasons including alcohol or drug-induced intoxication, mental illness, or the contamination of their recollection by others,” he said.

Mr Rattenbury also took aim at experienced ACT defence lawyer Jack Pappas, saying comments he made on ABC Radio about the Bar Association’s position showed “rape myths still fester in the community”.

In response, Mr Pappas criticised his suggestion that defence counsels are interested in the “system believing rape myths”.

“That statement was a scurrilous, baseless, unedifying, but not surprising one, coming from a man who showed precious little understanding of the criminal justice system whilst he was Attorney-General and seemed to be the intellectual captive of the public servants upon whom he relied for inspiration and advice,” Mr Pappas said.

“I have been involved in defending people accused of sex crimes (both men and women) since before Mr Rattenbury went to university and I can honestly say I have never once sought to convince a jury to believe in a so-called ‘rape myth’ and I have never once seen any other barrister do so.”