Connor Lind jailed for child sex crimes after losing appeal against prison sentence
A former rugby player’s attempt to overturn his conviction for child sexual offenses has failed, leaving him facing 11 months behind bars.
Former rugby sevens hopeful Connor Lind, 25, has lost his appeal against an 11-month prison sentence for sexually assaulting a teenage girl.
The Sydney Northern Beaches man was found guilty of two counts of sexual intercourse with a child under 16 and one count of sexually touching a child under 16 at a NSW District Court hearing in December 2024.
He was also found not guilty of one count of sexual intercourse with a child under 16 and one count of sexual intercourse in relation to a separate complainant.
The crimes occurred when Lind was aged 19 and 20 and involved a 14-year-old girl.
Lind appealed the sentence in the NSW Court of Appeal on the grounds that the jury’s guilty verdicts were inconsistent with not guilty verdicts regarding other alleged conduct towards the 14-year-old girl.
He was immediately released on appeal bail following his sentencing and remained in the community on the charges until March 9 this year, when the appeal was heard in court.
Her representatives argued that the jury’s not guilty verdict regarding the alleged affair called the girl’s credibility into question, which should have an impact on her credibility in the eyes of the jury over the convicted persons.
However, Lind’s objection on this issue was rejected with the decision given on Friday.
The panel ruled that, given a date in the charge that contradicted the girl’s testimony in court, it was possible for the jury to return a not guilty verdict based mostly on uncertainty about the timing of the alleged crime.
“It is entirely reasonable that the jury did in fact believe (the girl’s) account of the affair, but considered that, given the applicant’s own evidence, they should acquit the applicant … on the grounds that they were not satisfied that the incident occurred during the period specified in the indictment,” the panel said.
“It is not the case that the acquittal could be attributed solely or primarily to doubt about (the girl’s) credibility.”
Lind’s legal team also attempted to argue that the trial judge erred by not giving specific instructions addressing the various explanations for the crime of sexual touching.
The Board stated that the different statements between the witnesses were “not an unusual situation during the hearing” and did not allow the appeal on this basis.
Lind was a promising rugby sevens player when the crimes were uncovered.
At the first hearing in 2024, Judge John Pickering said he could not find any remorse or remorse from Lind.
Judge Pickering stated Lind’s hopes of a career in rugby sevens were almost certainly “crushed”.
Lind was ordered to serve an initial two-year sentence with an 11-month non-parole period.
His non-parole period began on March 9, 2026, making him eligible for parole in February 2027.
