Speaker 1: From the Australian. Here's what's on the front. I'm Claire Harvey.
Speaker 1: It's Friday, December six. Anthony Albanezi has proposed exempting giant
Speaker 1: salmon farms in Tasmania from federal environmental laws on a
Speaker 1: national interest basis. That's a scoop in the Australian, where
Speaker 1: we've been covering the stout over a rare endangered fish
Speaker 1: species that could blow up the salmon industry. Fitter Dutton
Speaker 1: says he'll cancel half the government's offshore wind zones, saying
Speaker 1: the giant turbines would jeopardize the environment, tourism and the economy.
Speaker 1: Both those stories alive now at the Australian dot com
Speaker 1: dot au. Christopher Michael Dawson is appealing his conviction for
Speaker 1: the unlawful carnal knowledge of a sixteen year old girl
Speaker 1: who was his pupil in nineteen eighty Dawson, previously convicted
Speaker 1: for the murder of his wife, Lynette Simms, says he
Speaker 1: he's not guilty and that the New South Wales District
Speaker 1: Court Chief Judge made errors of law in the trial.
Speaker 1: Today Dawson's grounds of appeal. Before we begin, there's some
Speaker 1: swearing in this episode. Did you catch that? It's Christopher
Speaker 1: Michael Dawson in twenty twenty three, reacting to his conviction
Speaker 1: for having unlawful carnal knowledge of a teenager who was
Speaker 1: his student in the early nineteen eighties. Dawson had already
Speaker 1: been convicted of the nineteen eighty two murder of his wife,
Speaker 1: Lynette Simms, and he was appearing via videolink wearing prison
Speaker 1: greens before the New South Wales District Court to hear
Speaker 1: Judge Sarah Hugget convict him of this second defense.
Speaker 2: I'm satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the accused committed the
Speaker 2: offense charged and find him guilty.
Speaker 1: When Dawson thought the video link was turned off, he
Speaker 1: let rip that string of expletives, clearly audible in the court.
Speaker 1: The complainant in this matter is a woman whom we
Speaker 1: can only identify as ab. She was the Dawson family
Speaker 1: babysitter in the early nineteen eighties and was Dawson's student
Speaker 1: at Chromer High where he was a sports teacher.
Speaker 3: One of his favorite stories, and it might have been
Speaker 3: one of mine too, is that he'd seen me in
Speaker 3: the playground when I was in year ten, fifteen years old,
Speaker 3: and he thought to himself, Oh, I'd really like to
Speaker 3: get to know her. She's beautiful. It softened me. I
Speaker 3: felt special because he'd said that.
Speaker 1: That's a voice actor reading the words of ab during
Speaker 1: her evidence at trial.
Speaker 3: I just remember lying there on the bed in anticipation, shaking.
Speaker 3: I was told to keep it a secret, part of
Speaker 3: the grooming process, I would say, to get me to
Speaker 3: trust him.
Speaker 1: Now Dawson, who has always denied any wrongdoing, is appealing
Speaker 1: the district court conviction.
Speaker 4: The verdict of guilt was unreasonable.
Speaker 1: That's a voice actor reading the first of four grounds
Speaker 1: of appeal on behalf of Dawson. He'll be represented by
Speaker 1: barrister Stephen Odger's sc A Silk specializing in criminal appeals.
Speaker 1: This trial was all about timing. Exactly when did Dawson
Speaker 1: first have sex with the girl. She says it was
Speaker 1: in nineteen eighty, when she was sixteen and a student
Speaker 1: in his class. Dawson admits he had sex with the
Speaker 1: girl while she was a teenager. Bard says it was
Speaker 1: the following year after she turned seventeen and was no
Speaker 1: longer in his class. He was in his early thirties.
Speaker 1: In early nineteen eighty two, Dawson's wife, Lynnette disappeared and
Speaker 1: ab moved into the family home. The pair later married
Speaker 1: and had a baby, then divorced. She later became a
Speaker 1: witness against him in both the murder and carnal knowledge proceedings,
Speaker 1: saying she was horrified by the dawning realization that Dawson
Speaker 1: had murdered Lynnette to be with her. That distinction in
Speaker 1: age is important because if Dawson is telling the truth,
Speaker 1: it wasn't a crime. The relevant law was that the
Speaker 1: age of consent for sex was sixteen, but there was
Speaker 1: a special exception for teachers and pupils. In that case,
Speaker 1: a female student had to be seventeen to consent to
Speaker 1: sex with her teacher.
Speaker 4: The trial judge ered in failing to take into account
Speaker 4: evidence relevant to the issue of the date sexual intercourse occurred,
Speaker 4: other than with respect to the credibility of the complainant.
Speaker 1: These are Dawson's continued grounds of appeal.
Speaker 4: The trial judge ered regarding the application of the burden
Speaker 4: and standard of proof. The trial judge ered in relying
Speaker 4: upon questions asked by defense counsel in cross examination of
Speaker 4: prosecution witnesses as indicating the defense case.
Speaker 1: The judge Sara Huggart, who has since been promoted to
Speaker 1: Chief Judge of the District Court, said this in her
Speaker 1: sentencing remarks, which the Court allowed us to broadcast.
Speaker 5: The victim did not tell anyone because the offender told
Speaker 5: her to keep its secret. The offense was committed in
Speaker 5: circumstances where the offender had engaged in conduct in the
Speaker 5: lead up to committing the offense that could be characterized.
Speaker 2: As grooming the victim.
Speaker 6: This included taking active.
Speaker 2: Steps to become her teacher, singling her out for attention,
Speaker 2: including choosing her to attend a sports carnival for brackets
Speaker 2: with another student clothes brackets, during which he sat next
Speaker 2: to her and put his hand on her knee which
Speaker 2: made her feel special, telling her she was beautiful, and
Speaker 2: having her babysit in his home.
Speaker 6: This occurred in a context.
Speaker 2: In which the offender knew the victim was experiencing trouble
Speaker 2: in her home life and that she was somewhat vulnerable.
Speaker 6: The offender also encouraged the victim to confide in him about.
Speaker 2: Her problems, and she came to trust him.
Speaker 1: During the Cunnel Knowledge trial, Dawson was at Long Bay.
Speaker 1: He initially showed up for court, but then asked if
Speaker 1: he could watch the trial via video link from jail,
Speaker 1: as it was exhausting to get on the prison bus
Speaker 1: in the pre dawn hours with all the other prisoners
Speaker 1: attending court not to return until well after dark. In
Speaker 1: her sentencing remarks, Judge Huggart acknowledged time in prison was
Speaker 1: draining for the now seventy six year old.
Speaker 2: The offenders mental health deteriorated following his arrest and the
Speaker 2: associated media and public interest. He experienced a further decline
Speaker 2: in his mental.
Speaker 6: Health when he was admitted to custody on thirty August
Speaker 6: twenty twenty two, having been foundabilty of the murder of
Speaker 6: Lynette Dawson. Although he reports experiencing taunting by inmates from
Speaker 6: neighboring wings, apparently the inmates within his wing are supporting.
Speaker 1: Huggart sentenced Dawson to three years. He's also serving twenty
Speaker 1: four years for the murder of Lynette. Coming up after
Speaker 1: the break what happened when Dawson appealed against his conviction
Speaker 1: for murder. Earlier this year, Dawson appealed against his conviction
Speaker 1: for murdering his wife, which had been delivered by Justice
Speaker 1: Ian Harrison of the New Southwheales Supreme Court.
Speaker 7: Christopher Michael Dawson on the charge the donor, about eight
Speaker 7: January nineteen eighty two, at Dayview or elsewhere in the
Speaker 7: state of New South Wales, you did murder Lynnette Dawson.
Speaker 7: I find you guilty. The message down mister Dawson will
Speaker 7: be necessary for you to be taken into custody. You'll
Speaker 7: have to go.
Speaker 1: Dawson won't get parole unless he reveals what he did
Speaker 1: with Lynn's remains, a new piece of legislation named Lynn's
Speaker 1: Law in her honor.
Speaker 7: The evidence does not reveal how mister Dawson killed Lynette Dawson.
Speaker 7: It does not reveal whether he did so with the
Speaker 7: assistance of anyone else or by himself. He does not
Speaker 7: reveal where or when he did so, nor does it
Speaker 7: reveal well in at Dawson's body is now. The charge
Speaker 7: of murder in this trial is unsupported by direct evidence.
Speaker 7: The case against mister Dawson is wholly circumstantial. I'm satisfied
Speaker 7: the unreasonable doubt that the only rational inference that the
Speaker 7: circumstances enable me to draw is that Lenette Dawson died
Speaker 7: or on about eight January nineteen eighty two as the
Speaker 7: result of a conscious and voluntary act committed by mister
Speaker 7: Dawson with the intention of causing her death.
Speaker 1: In his appeal against the murder conviction, Dawson's representative of
Speaker 1: public defender, Belinda Rigesci, claimed he suffered a significant forensic
Speaker 1: disadvantage because the trial happened so long after the alleged crime.
Speaker 1: She said, evidence that could prove Lynn war I was
Speaker 1: alive after January nineteen eighty two had been destroyed or
Speaker 1: lost to time, memories had faded, and potential witnesses had died.
Speaker 1: A voice actor is reading the words spoken by Belinda
Speaker 1: Rigg in court.
Speaker 8: That's a very clear example of a deceased person whose
Speaker 8: evidence was crucial. That very type of detail has been
Speaker 8: lost because of the delay. Rig also submitted Justice Harrison
Speaker 8: erd when he declared Dawson's lies demonstrated a consciousness of guilt.
Speaker 8: Although it took forty years for Dawson to be charged,
Speaker 8: and although he fought it at every level and the
Speaker 8: trial itself stretched over more than two months, it took
Speaker 8: fewer than two minutes for the appeal to be dismissed
Speaker 8: by a three judge bench.
Speaker 1: Chris Dawson is expected to die in jail, with one
Speaker 1: judge declaring there is absolutely no doubt he is guilty.
Speaker 1: The Cardinal Knowledge appeal will be heard on March thirty one,
Speaker 1: twenty twenty five. Thanks for joining us on the front
Speaker 1: this week. Our team is Kristin Amiot, Jasper leek Leat, Sammaglu,
Speaker 1: Josh Burton, Tiffany Dimack, Stephanie Coombs and me Claire Harvey.
Speaker 1: Don't forget to come back over the weekend for another
Speaker 1: of our special arts and culture episodes. This time we'll
Speaker 1: reveal what it takes to write an award winning novel,
Speaker 1: and of course join us anytime for Australia's best journalism
Speaker 1: at the Australian dot com dot au