Notes from our Legal Advisor

The Cairns Post is wrong about the committal ... they do
not understand the procedure and frequently get it wrong
What actually happened is that the defendant has formally asked
for a Registry Committal, which is an administrative process
(not a court process) in which the Magistrates Court
permits the indictment to be presented to the District Court
I cannot recall if that has already happened or will happen shortly
The Cairns Post people probably misheard or misunderstood
what is meant by a Registry Committal
and just heard the word 'Committal'

Mr O’Reilly would not have indicated that there will be a
plea of guilty to the reporter ... he only said that to you
There will be a formal plea of guilty
entered by the defendant personally at the sentence
In terms of the guilty plea, the reality is that he will receive
a discount for that because it encourages other criminals
to own up to what they have done, and it avoids the expense,
time and trauma of a trial
It is also mandated by the Penalties and Sentences Act 1992
I understand your cynicism about the process
I think it is most likely that the evidence was so overwhelming
that he had no choice but to plead guilty

I also understand that is a very stressful situation for you
and I do understand that you may express your frustrations to me
and that is okay
I never thought that I would be in this position to share this
horrible experience with you on behalf of Tanya
Your family has done remarkably well in the circumstances