A FORMER champion Newcastle boxer who was jailed for a maximum of 10 years after being found guilty of repeatedly sexually assaulting a young girl has failed in his bid to have his convictions overturned.
Scott Edwards was found guilty by a jury of six counts of aggravated sexual intercourse with a person aged between 10 and 14 after a trial in Newcastle District Court in May, 2018.
Edwards, then a personal trainer, was convicted of sexually assaulting the girl on two occasions before an early morning boot camp at Kotara in late 2012. The first series of offending occurred in his car and the second in the male public toilet in the park a week later.
He was later jailed for a maximum of 10 years, with a non-parole period of six years and eight months.
Edwards, now 33, launched an appeal against his convictions to the Court of Criminal Appeal, claiming there had been a miscarriage of justice during the trial due to a combination of the late production of a prosecution witness and insufficient disclosure of the contents of Edwards' mobile phone.
Edwards' legal team also asserted that the jury's guilty verdicts in relation to the second series of offending were unreasonable because of difficulties with evidence relating to whether or not Edwards had a key to the male toilets.
The Court of Criminal Appeal unanimously dismissed the appeal, finding that neither ground was made out.
Edwards will remain behind bars and is eligible for parole in November, 2023.
