A Victorian jury should have considered whether Mohammed Nuramin knew two girls were underage when he gave them drugs and assaulted them before convicting him, a court has found.
Nuramin was found guilty of 14 drug and sexual assault offences and sentenced to 11 years and four months in prison, in April 2021, following a trial by jury.
He and two co-offenders were accused of picking up two girls, aged 11 and 12, supplying them with drugs and alcohol and then sexually assaulting them.
Prosecutors argued the men had reached an agreement to commit the offences and all three were guilty of all charges, irrespective of who carried out each act.
The jury found the three men guilty of the drug supply offences and sexual offending against an 11-year-old girl, but acquitted them of sexual acts against a 12-year-old.
Nuramin successfully appealed his sentence and conviction on some charges, after arguing the jury was misdirected during the trial.
Victoria's Court of Appeal on Tuesday found he suffered a "substantial miscarriage of justice" as the prosecution did not prove, and the jury did not consider, whether he knew the girls were underage at the time of the offending.
"The jury was instructed that in order to establish that the applicant was guilty ... the prosecution did not have to prove that the applicant knew [the 11-year-old girl] was under 12," Justices Karin Emerton, Emilios Kyrou and Terry Forrest said.
"Likewise, the jury was directed that the prosecution did not have to prove that the applicant knew that [the two girls] were under 18 in order to be guilty of the drug supply offences by reason of complicity."
Nuramin had his convictions set aside on six charges and will face a new trial.
But he was re-sentenced to eight years and six months in prison, with a non-parole period of six years, on the remaining charges where he was the principal offender.
The justices labelled the December 2018 offending as "disgusting" and said the men treated the 11-year-old child "like a piece of meat".
"They not only failed to protect a vulnerable young girl, but exploited that vulnerability for their own sexual gratification. In so doing, they exposed an 11-year-old child to the risk of pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases," the justices said.
Nuramin remains in custody and has already served one year and seven months in prison.
