gang rape conviction overturned

THE AGE
Gang rape conviction overturned

March 4, 2004 - 11:11AM



A man found guilty of gang-raping a teenager in Sydney's west had his conviction overturned and a retrial ordered today.

Tayyab Sheikh was found guilty by a NSW District Court jury in 2002 of one count of detaining for sexual advantage and one of aggravated gang rape.

His convictions related to the gang rape of a teenage girl at Bankstown in Sydney's west on August 30, 2000.

The NSW Court of Appeal today overturned his conviction and ordered he be retried on the two charges.

Sheikh was sentenced to 15 years jail with a non-parole period of nine years.

The victim, who was then 18, was raped by 14 men over a six hour period.

She was first attacked at Bankstown's Marion Street carpark toilets then taken to Bankstown Trotting Club and a Chullora industrial site where she was repeatedly raped.

Sheikh's trial started when the jury was delivering guilty verdicts for four of his co-accused.

His lawyers argued during the appeal that the sensational and widespread publicity at the start of his trial caused a miscarriage of justice.
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President Keith Mason and Justice James Wood today agreed there had been a miscarriage of justice.

"In the case of sensational media publicity that gives a jury access to damaging inadmissible material there may be cases where the jury's capacity to ignore the material may be put into serious doubt," President Mason and Justice Wood said in their judgment.

Justice Brian Sully disagreed but the decision was made on the majority of judges.

The judges were also to deliver judgments on the appeals of gang rape ringleader Bilal Skaf, his brother Mohammed Skaf and Mahmoud Chami today.

But the matters were adjourned because an evidentiary issue was raised that would require further investigation.

Skaf was convicted of a string of gang rapes in Sydney's west in 2000 and was sentenced to 55 years jail.

- AAP