After nearly five hours, jury deliberations have finished for the day at the trial of Arthur Allan Thomas.
Judge John Bergseng took nearly two hours to sum up the case this morning before the jury retired to consider its verdict just after midday.
The two week trial of historical sexual charges – four of indecent assault and one of rape – has seen an intense legal battle between Crown Prosecutor Aaron Perkins QC and Defence Lawyer Marie Dyhrberg QC.
The Crown contends Mr Thomas participated in and encouraged others to participate in sexual activity with the two female complainants who went to police in 2019, many years after the alleged offending took place.
The defence has maintained from the outset that the claims were fabricated and the women motivated by a dispute over money.
Judge Bergseng told the jury there was no time limit on when this “type of offending can come to court".
And he cautioned the jury that the historical nature of the charges meant they will need to carefully assess the reliability of the evidence.
The judge said the starting point for the jury was"‘the presumption of innocence" and the Crown must prove Thomas is guilty "beyond reasonable doubt.”
“Reasonable doubt is an honest and reasonable uncertainty left in your mind after you’ve given careful and impartial consideration to all the evidence,” the Judge said.
The jury's deliberations will resume at 10am tomorrow.
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