Cyclist Rohan Dennis to seek judge’s recusal in disqualified driving case
Former professional cyclist Rohan Dennis intends to apply for the recusal of the judge who is to sentence him in a case involving driving a car while disqualified from driving. According to ABC News Australia, the 36-year-old Dennis pleaded guilty to the charge in July.
Recusal application
In the District Court of South Australia, Dennis’s lawyer Craig Caldicott said he planned to file an application for the recusal of the judge who will consider sentencing. He said written submissions would be filed before the September 22 hearing, but did not explain the grounds for the application.
Caldicott stressed that he had no issue with the judge and believed filing the application was an appropriate step in the circumstances. The lawyer also said Dennis could face imprisonment for driving despite the disqualification, as people can be jailed for such an offence.
Case circumstances
In June, police found Dennis behind the wheel near the site where his wife, Melissa Hoskins, died. Two children were in the vehicle at the time.
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Hoskins, a two-time Olympic cycling competitor, died in December 2023 after she was struck near the couple’s home in the Medindie area of northern Adelaide by a car driven by Dennis.
Previous case
Following Hoskins’s death, Dennis was charged with causing death by dangerous driving and aggravated careless driving. Prosecutors later withdrew those charges. Instead, Dennis pleaded guilty to aggravated creating a likelihood of harm.
In that case, he received a 17-month suspended prison sentence, conditional on a two-year good behaviour undertaking, and was banned from driving for five years. A case concerning a possible breach of that undertaking will be heard in court later in September.
