Despite "grave suspicion" a man has been found not guilty of sexually abusing his adopted sister and niece more than 40 years ago.
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In a decision published last week, Justice Chrissa Loukas-Karlsson found the man not guilty of two counts of committing an indecent act on a child.
The man, who is not named for legal reasons, contested the charges in a judge-alone trial in the ACT Supreme Court last year.
The prosecution had alleged the man touched his adopted sister on her genitals multiple times while she stayed at his Tharwa home during school holidays between 1971 and 1975.
The complainant, who had major depressive disorder, died by suicide in 2022 and was not able to be cross-examined during the trial.
The prosecution also alleged the man sexually touched his niece when she stayed with him in Holder between 1979 and 1983.
During the trial the court heard the girl did not make a complaint at the time because "she felt she might get into trouble, she felt ashamed, and she feared how her father might react".
"She stated that her father was an angry man, and she was concerned that he might bash or kill the accused and end up in jail himself," Justice Loukas-Karlsson said.
Justice Loukas-Karlsson ultimately found that while it was "likely" the man had sexually interfered with his niece, there was "a reasonable doubt".
"That doubt arises from the combination of factors including delay and consequent forensic disadvantage including the death of relevant individuals, and further, the nature of the complaint evidence," she said.
Justice Loukas-Karlsson said that while there was "grave suspicion" about the man's conduct toward his adopted sister, the evidence was "not sufficient for proof beyond reasonable doubt".
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Sexual assault charges are ordinarily excluded from judge alone trials in the ACT under legislation introduced in 2011.
Prior to the trial starting, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of the accused's election for a judge alone trial based on the argument that the charges were not subjected to the 2011 legislation.
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