Jacob Millns

The appellant appealed his conviction for failing to comply with a release order by communicating with the complainant in his pending human trafficking trial.

The communication occurred when third parties approached the complainant with a phone connected to a video call with the appellant, who smirked at her.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding it was open to the trial judge to conclude that the smirk was an intentional communication and that the appellant knew the complainant could see him.

The court also held that the trial judge's reasons, though brief, were sufficient for appellate review.

The appellant was convicted of multiple charges of assaulting and threatening his children, and breaching bail orders.

On appeal, he argued that the trial judge failed to consider that the youngest complainant's evidence might have been inadvertently tainted by her older sibling.

The Court of Appeal found no reversible error, noting that the trial judge was entitled to conclude there was no evidence of influence regarding the specific assaults that formed the basis of the convictions.

The court also declined to interfere with the trial judge's credibility findings, which rejected the appellant's claim that he was framed.

The appeal was dismissed.

The appellant sought leave to appeal his sentence for assaulting, threatening, and stealing from his live-in girlfriend, arguing the trial judge erred by imposing restrictive probationary terms that deviated from a joint submission.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding the trial judge properly notified counsel of his intention to depart from the joint submission because the proposed terms did not sufficiently protect the public, given the appellant's history of domestic violence.

The court also rejected the argument that the trial judge improperly assumed facts about a prior fatal car crash involving the appellant's former partner.