Hundreds of sexual offense cases possibly compromised as Victoria Police investigates data handling issues
Melbourne – Hundreds of sexual offence cases in Victoria are potentially compromised after an internal audit revealed issues with how Victoria Police handles digital evidence. The audit uncovered problems with data duplication and a lack of clarity regarding the volume of digital material collected in investigations, raising concerns about the integrity of prosecutions.
TeAK Legal & consulting principal solicitor karin temperley expressed serious concerns about the impact of likely case adjournments. “A year in the life of a young child is a huge amount of time. We certainly know it affects memory and those kind of things, so to have to deal with that anxiety and stress is going to be damaging,” she said. Ms. Temperley added that the adjournments would likely cause “huge amounts of stress” for most of her clients.
The issues identified could also exacerbate existing problems with bail laws,where individuals are already being held in police stations for extended periods. “It will potentially compound the harms in that space,” Ms. Temperley stated. She also highlighted the anxiety the delays will cause victims awaiting case resolutions, some of whom have been waiting for years.
Ms. Temperley is currently exploring an appeal in a case from earlier this year where her client received a five-year jail sentence. The case involved questions about duplication across 30-40 devices, but Victoria Police did not provide an description for the delay in answering those questions at the time. “The client was keen to get a result, so we finalised – but all of this has come out since,” she said. “Its hard to say how much it’s affected [the] sentence, so I’m in the process of getting a second opinion.”
The affected cases include matters relating to child abuse.
Victoria Police, the Australian Federal Police and the Office of Public Prosecutions have been contacted for comment.
