A magistrate made several errors based on an audio recording of the event that occurred ten years ago, and as a result, a Supreme Court judge has overturned a South Australian police officer’s assault sentence.
Police officer Andrew Allan Jaunay received a three-month sentence with a complete suspension in March 2022 for the Whyalla assault on then-17-year-old Matthew Odgers in 2013.
After a trial, the 44-year-old was found to have intentionally struck the teenager in the face with an open hand because he was upset with the way he was acting towards the police.
The trial’s most important piece of evidence was an audio recording made by Mr. Odgers of his mother, him, and the police officers soon after the alleged assault.
In the video, the police officer admitted to the assault, according to Magistrate Ben Sale.
However, Mr. Jaunay appealed to the Supreme Court both his judgement and sentence.
His appeal against his conviction was accepted today by Justice Laura Stein, who also mandated that he undergo a fresh trial before a different magistrate.
She discovered that when interpreting words from the audio tape, Magistrate Sale made a number of errors.
“The magistrate erred in rejecting the possibility that any other words were spoken and finding beyond a reasonable doubt that the words ‘ya fairy mates’ were spoken in the recording,” Justice Stein said.
However, Magistrate Sale determined the words were “belted you one,” despite the prosecution arguing that the phrase “belted you up” could be heard on the tape.
According to Justice Stein, “that factual finding, as well as the magistrate’s individual understanding of the meaning of the words found to have been uttered, were significant in his reasonings of guilt.”
She claimed that the judge ought to have allowed the defence and prosecution attorneys to make additional arguments regarding the phrase’s wording.
Justice Stein also discovered that Magistrate Sale interpreted the phrase “belted you one” in his own way, taking it to mean a hand strike.
She claimed that Mr. Jaunay did not receive “procedural fairness,” so she granted the appeal.
