M A v The Queen [2013] VSCA 20

Facts: Defendant (D) was convicted of 7 counts of sexual assault (CSA) against his daughter. It wasn’t reported for many years (20+ years). D said “if the allegations were true, which they’re not, surely she would’ve reported this much earlier, and if I had sexually assaulted her, surely she wouldn’t have continued to be normal around me”. In response, the prosecution (Pr) called an expert psychiatrist who said her behaviour was consistent with victims of CSA (they don’t make a prompt report as extensively groomed so sexual contact seemed normal, threats of violence, positive feelings re family member offender, concern re breaking up family unit). This also explained why she did not cry out during the assaults, why the mother did not accept the truth of her complaints and why she maintained a relationship with her father. 

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