Accessory After the Fact Flashcards
Accessory after the fact
liability
Section 71(1), Crimes Act 1961
- knowing person party to offence
- receives, comforts or assists that person OR tampers with OR actively suppresses evidence to enable
- escape after arrest OR to avoid arrest OR conviction
Penalty
7yrs for life imprisonment offence
5yrs for 10yr imprisonment offence
half the penalty for what the offence is
What needs to be proved in relation to an accessory after the fact charge
- the person who is received, comforted or assisted by the accessory is a party to an offence
- at the time of receiving/comforting/assisting that person the accessory knows that person was a party to the offence
- the accessory received/comforted/assisted that person or tampered with or actively surpassed evidence against them
- at the time fo receiving/comforting/assisting the accessory’s purpose was to enable that person to escape after arrest or to avoid conviction
When can someone not be charged with being an accessory after the fact
• if it is your spouse (legally married) or civil union partner that you assist or your spouse and another party (when they work in concert)
Dose not extent to those in de facto relationships or other family or cases where the person helps another party but does not assist their spouse or civil union partner
When does an accessory after the fact charge come into play
Once the offence is complete
If not complete it would be considered a parties or conspiracy offence
Definition of knowing
Means knowing or correctly believing….
The belief must be a correct one, where the belief is wrong a person cannot know something
R v Crooks
Knowledge means actual knowledge or belief in the sense of having no real doubt that the person assisted was a party to the relevant offence. Mere suspicion of their involvement in the offence is insufficent
At the time of the assistance being given an accessory must possess the knowledge that……
- an offence has been committed AND
- the person they are assisting was a party (principle or secondary) to that offence
Not guilty if knowledge comes about after assistance has been given
In what two situations is it considered wilful blindness
- where the person deliberately shuts their eyes and fails to inquire, this is because they knew what the answer would be
- in situations where the means of knowledge are easily at hand and the person realises the likely truth of the matter but refrains from inquiring in order not to know
R v Briggs
As with a receiving charge under s246(1) knowledge may also be inferred from wilful blindness or a deliberate abstention from making inquiries that would confirm the suspected truth
What are the 5 Actus reus of accessory after the fact
- receives
- comforts
- assists
- tampers with evidence
- actively suppresses evidence
R v Mane
To be considered an accessory the acts done by the person must be after the completion of the offence
Definition of receiving/comforting
Harbouring an offender or offering them shelter eg. hiding a prison escape in a basement.
Comforting encompasses providing an offender with food and clothing
Definition of assisting
- providing transport
- acting as a look out
- identifying someone willing to purchase stolen property as receiver
- providing authorise with false information as to an offender whereabouts
- giving advice, information, material or services to the offender
Definition of tampers with evidence
Means to alter the evidence against the offender
eg. modifying an offenders telephone records to conceal communications that might implicate them
Definition of actively suppresses evidence
Acts of concealing or destroying evidence against the offender
eg. bloodied clothing washed repeatedly or set alight to destroy it
Is it possible to be convicted of attempting to be an accessory
Yes
Is there a requirement that the offender is assisted directly by the accessory
No, they can assist a third person who directly assists the offender
What intent must an accessory possess (mens rea)
to enable the offender to:
• escape after arrest
• avoid arrest
• avoid conviction
Can an accessory be charged even if the party to the principle offence is not charged
Yes
In order to be found guilty of an accessory after the fact what must be proved
Proof that the principle offence was committed
Still applied even when the offender has pled guilty to the principle offence
Can an accessory after the fact still be convicted after the offender of the principle offence is acquitted
Yes, unless the accessory’s conviction is inconsistent with the acquittal of the original offender
Under what circumstances can you charge someone with being an accessory after the fact when they have received goods dishonestly obtained
When you can. prove that the property was received with the intention to assist the offender evading justice
