Support worker's sexual assault convictions quashed due to evidence error
Court quashed convictions, ruling evidence of massage porn searches wrongly implied a tendency to commit assault.
A support worker's sexual assault convictions have been overturned by the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal. Magda Mikhaiel was convicted of assaulting a 15-year-old client at a temporary accommodation home.
The court found the trial judge improperly admitted phone evidence. Prosecutors showed Mikhaiel had searched for "massage porn" before the alleged offence.
The trial judge allowed this to prove she had a tendency to perform sexualized massages. The appeal court disagreed.
It ruled the evidence did not establish such a tendency. It only showed she viewed pornography.
There was a "disconnect" between what the evidence proved and how jurors were told to use it. The court overturned all four convictions and ordered a retrial, scheduled later this month.
- 15 years old
- Victim age
- 4 counts quashed November 12, 2026
- Convictions overturned
Why it mattersEvidentiary errors in trials can lead to wrongful convictions; this case shows appeal courts closely scrutinize how evidence is presented to juries.
AustraliaNo direct Australian effect yet, but highlights how trial procedures protect fairness in serious crimes involving vulnerable young people.
