Jeffrey ‘Joffa’ Corfe’s verdict will NOT be appealed after Collingwood superfan avoids jail
Collingwood superfan ‘Joffa’ Corfe’s sentence will NOT be challenged after he evaded jail for child sexual abuse: ‘Looks like he won the lottery’
The sentence given to Collingwood superfan Jeffrey ‘Joffa’ Corfe will not be appealed after he avoided jail time for sexually assaulting a teenage boy.
The age reports that prosecutors decided not to appeal because there was no reasonable prospect that the appeals court would consider the sentence to be beyond their available options.
Corfe pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a Yarraville man named Alex Case in 2005 when he was 14 while Corfe was 44. He received a 12-month prison sentence suspended for two years, meaning he will not go to prison for the historic abuse.
“At the time the offense was committed, the Sentencing Act 1991 provided that a full suspended sentence was to be construed as imprisonment,” said a spokesman for the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
“The Court of Appeal has held that, for the purpose of review on appeal, if the County Court has imposed a wholly suspended sentence, it has effectively ordered the offender to be imprisoned.”
Jeffrey ‘Joffa’ Corfe’s suspended sentence will not be appealed, prosecutors say
The Collingwood superfan pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a teenager in 2004
Case expressed disappointment with the decision, claiming it could affect other victims who come forward.
“I feel like he got away with what he did to me. I’m just worried about the message this is sending to other victims,” he told The Age.
“I understand why other victims are silent. I don’t blame them – getting through this is tough, especially with the delays.
“Looks like he’s won the lottery… and is about to have something to celebrate, while I’m left with an outcome that offers me no closure whatsoever.”
For crimes committed on or after May 2011, suspended sentences no longer apply, but because Corfe’s crime occurred in 2005, he was eligible for a suspended sentence.