A man who admitted to raping a woman in a random attack in Islington has been allowed to change his plea and will face a trial, after a court finding that he had not been given his required medication while in custody the day he pleaded guilty.
Judge Penelope Wass, SC, said it was "extremely concerning" that there were no records available as to whether Windale man David John Greentree, 49, had been given his insulin doses or anti-depressant medication on December 9 last year - the day he changed his plea to guilty - or in the weeks leading up to that date.
He had originally pleaded not guilty in August to one count of sexual intercourse without consent but changed that to guilty during Newcastle District Court's super callover after prosecutors agreed to withdraw a more serious charge.
Judge Wass said on Friday she accepted Mr Greentree's account that he quickly realised after he entered the guilty plea that he may have done so due to the effects of not having received his medication.
She said this was not apparent to anyone else at the time and all legal representatives had acted diligently - it was a case of poor management by Corrective Services NSW.
"I accept [Mr Greentree] was not appropriately treated for his diabetes or his depression and that this compromised his ability to make rational decisions," she said.
"He was, on his own account, light-headed, frustrated and edgy and felt like he wanted to lie down. He doesn't suggest that he told anyone that."
Judge Wass said the charge Mr Greentree faced was serious and carried a maximum 14-year jail term, but it was in the "interest of justice" to allow him to withdraw his guilty plea and have the case put before a jury.
Mr Greentree is accused of randomly attacking a woman in Islington who was walking to her car late on the night of December 10, 2021, after he left his work Christmas party and failed to get into the Newcastle Hotel on Maitland Road.
According to a statement of police facts, he allegedly crept-up behind the woman, pushed her into her van and told her "no-one is going to hear you scream".
Mr Greentree allegedly held her down, put his hand over her mouth and sexually assaulted her before she punched him in the head 15 times and yelled for help - prompting the alleged attacker to flee.
He then went to King Street McDonald's where he called his wife for a ride home.
Mr Greentree remains in custody and will face court again on August 10, where he will be re-arraigned.
