In the case of R v BEH, the Supreme Court of Queensland dealt with an appeal against conviction regarding a serious charge of maintaining an unlawful relationship with a child, with a circumstance of aggravation. The appellant, accused of sexually abusing his nephew over a span of seven years from when the complainant was between eight and nine years old, contested the conviction citing misdirection by the trial judge on the issue of collusion between the complainant and his younger brother. Both siblings provided strikingly similar accounts of abuse, leading to concerns of possible collusion. However, the court found no evidence of collusion and noted that the similarity in their accounts added significant strength to the prosecution's case. The appeal was dismissed after consideration of the appellant's arguments against the trial judge's directions on collusion and the reliability of the similar testimonies provided by the complainant and his younger brother.
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