The youth appellants were convicted of armed robbery and related offences.
At trial, the judge admitted hearsay statements from a victim and a co-accused under the principled exception to the hearsay rule.
The appellants appealed their convictions and sentences.
The Court of Appeal dismissed the conviction appeals, finding no error in the trial judge's reliability analysis for the hearsay statements.
However, the sentence appeals were allowed.
The trial judge erred by considering general deterrence, which is not a principle of youth sentencing.
Given the passage of time and fresh evidence of the appellants' successful rehabilitation, the court reduced their sentences to periods of open custody and community supervision.