One of the state's longest running criminal matters has taken another twist, with a Newcastle businessman found unfit to stand trial over historical child sexual assault allegations.
William Keith Roberts, known as Bill Roberts, now 86, was in 2021 found guilty of three counts of sexual and indecent assault dating back to the 1970s and 1980s after a trial in Newcastle District Court.
He was later jailed for a maximum of five years, with a non-parole period of two years.
However, after spending about 13 months behind bars, Roberts was released on bail in March last year after his legal team took an appeal against his conviction to the Court of Criminal Appeal.
The question of fitness had not been raised during the trial, but while Roberts was in jail his lawyers obtained a number of medical reports that suggested he was suffering from a cognitive impairment.
A three-judge panel of the CCA later upheld the first ground of appeal 2-1, finding there had been a miscarriage of justice because Roberts may have been suffering from dementia at the time of the trial, calling into question his fitness to stand trial.
The issue for Roberts was not related to his capacity to provide instructions to his lawyers or follow the proceedings, instead it was his ability to give evidence and the manner in which he presented to the jury, which had been used by prosecutors to suggest he was lying.
While the majority of the bench upheld the appeal because Roberts may have been unfit at the time he faced trial, the dissenting judge found no miscarriage of justice.
"The applicant suffered from dementia at the time of the trial," Justice Jeremy Kirk said. "How that affected the applicant is a question of degree. "The applicant was occasionally argumentative and non-responsive. Some of this may have been due to dementia. However, there is little in the transcript to differentiate it from many other witnesses who are not suffering from cognitive impairment. The applicant's capacity to give evidence was somewhat affected by his dementia, and reduced in comparison to if he gave evidence without that condition. But that does not suffice to establish that he was not fit to be tried."
The second ground of appeal - arguing the guilty verdicts are unreasonable - was unanimously dismissed in the CCA.
The matter was sent back to the NSW District Court where a fitness hearing in March this year found Roberts was unlikely to become fit to stand trial in the next 12 months.
And so the matter was transferred back to Newcastle District Court, where Roberts will now face a special hearing in 2025, nearly a decade after he was charged.
When an accused is found unfit for trial the DPP can press for a special hearing, which is a modified criminal trial that aims to determine whether, on the limited evidence available, the accused committed the physical elements of the offence.
If a judge finds that the accused committed the offence then they can set a limiting term, which is the total sentence of imprisonment that would have been imposed if it were a normal criminal trial.
The matter was mentioned last week and set down for an estimated three-week special hearing on August 4, 2025.
But the court heard that estimate could double if defence lawyers are successful in applying to re-examine the complainant and call a number of other expert witnesses.
