Peter Versi ... convicted and jailed for sexual abuse.
Prominent Sydney property developer Peter Versi has been jailed after an appeal against his conviction for sexually abusing his step-daughter was dismissed by the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal.
Versi was hugged and kissed by crying relatives after the decision was handed down by Justice Megan Latham on Thursday. He then waved to the court before being taken down to the cells by corrective services officers.
The 64-year-old was found guilty in March last year of one act of indecency and one act of sexual intercourse without consent at a Mosman home in the mid-1980s. The victim was his young step-daughter.
Versi was then jailed for 18 months. But the case caused outrage in April when Versi's legal team argued his identity should be suppressed, pending the outcome of an appeal.
In an unusual decision, District Court judge Ken Taylor granted the order, having heard submissions by Versi's barrister, Anthony Bellanto, QC, that the negative publicity would be catastrophic to the developer's reputation and future business activities.
Then, last August, five months into his sentence at Long Bay jail, Versi successfully applied for bail pending his appeal.
He has been free and living with his wife for the past 14 months while waiting for his appeal to be heard in the NSW Court of Appeal and then for the judges to make their decision.
Mr Bellanto argued that there had been a miscarriage of justice because the directions to the jury about tendency evidence were "confusing and inappropriate" and that the jury's verdict was "unreasonable and cannot be supported by the evidence".
But the three-judge appeal panel rejected this argument, dismissing the appeal on Thursday.
He will now serve the remaining 13 months of his sentence, and will not be eligible for parole until December 24, 2015.
Versi's victim, who cannot be named, cried and embraced her relatives and friends after the decision was handed down.
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