Rapists walk free WTF Bloomfield and Merryfull walk free despite being foun guilty twice?
Two men twice convicted of raping and sexually assaulting a woman at a party in regional Victoria seven years ago have been spared further prison time, and will instead serve community corrections orders.
Following a retrial last year, Shaun Bloomfield, of Horsham, and Luke Merryfull, of Geelong, both 28, were sentenced for the rape today in the Melbourne County Court.
Merryfull will serve a two-year community corrections order (CCO) with 200 hours of unpaid work, and Bloomfield a three-year CCO with 300 hours of unpaid work.
The men raped a young woman in a caravan at a party near Balmoral, south of Horsham in western Victoria, in April 2016.
The pair's initial convictions were overturned on appeal after a witness came forward with new evidence the day after the men were jailed in April 2019.
Bloomfield and Merryfull each spent 522 days in prison before the Court of Appeal overturned their convictions in September 2020.
The case then went to several retrials before the men were convicted for the second time in August last year, after pleading not guilty to the charges against them.
In sentencing, Judge David Brookes noted it had been more than seven years since the incident for which the men had been twice found guilty.
Two subsequent retrial attempts failed in 2022 — one in Ballarat was abandoned due to COVID-19, and a second in Bendigo was abandoned after a juror conducted their own research on the case.
A third retrial in Melbourne successfully reached a verdict in August last year.
www.abc.net.au
Two men twice convicted of raping and sexually assaulting a woman at a party in regional Victoria seven years ago have been spared further prison time, and will instead serve community corrections orders.
Following a retrial last year, Shaun Bloomfield, of Horsham, and Luke Merryfull, of Geelong, both 28, were sentenced for the rape today in the Melbourne County Court.
Merryfull will serve a two-year community corrections order (CCO) with 200 hours of unpaid work, and Bloomfield a three-year CCO with 300 hours of unpaid work.
The men raped a young woman in a caravan at a party near Balmoral, south of Horsham in western Victoria, in April 2016.
The pair's initial convictions were overturned on appeal after a witness came forward with new evidence the day after the men were jailed in April 2019.
Bloomfield and Merryfull each spent 522 days in prison before the Court of Appeal overturned their convictions in September 2020.
The case then went to several retrials before the men were convicted for the second time in August last year, after pleading not guilty to the charges against them.
In sentencing, Judge David Brookes noted it had been more than seven years since the incident for which the men had been twice found guilty.
Two subsequent retrial attempts failed in 2022 — one in Ballarat was abandoned due to COVID-19, and a second in Bendigo was abandoned after a juror conducted their own research on the case.
A third retrial in Melbourne successfully reached a verdict in August last year.
Pair escape further jail after twice being convicted over Victorian rape
Two men twice convicted of raping and sexually assaulting a woman at a party in Balmoral in regional Victoria seven years ago, will serve community corrections orders.
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