Judge alone trial — proof beyond reasonable doubt — unlawful sexual connection — Oranga Tamariki Act 1989. The young person, PY, had been charged with three counts of sexual violation. It was alleged that he had performed oral sex on a five year old child on three separate occasions. The burden fell on the Crown to prove beyond a reasonable doubt each element of the offending: that PY had unlawful sexual connection with the child; that the child did not consent to the connection; and that PY did not believe the child consented to the connection. As the complainant was only five at the time of the offending and had said "no" to PY, the main issue was proving whether the unlawful sexual connection occurred. The Judge weighed the evidence of the complainant and other witnesses against that of PY. It was found that the complainant's evidence was more consistent, made more sense and was supported by witness statements. All three elements of the charges were successfully made out beyond a reasonable doubt. A family group conference was scheduled, to be followed by a sentencing hearing. Judgment Date: 16 January 2019. * * * Note: Names have been changed to comply with legal requirements * * *