There will be no verdict until Monday at the earliest in the historical sexual abuse trial of Arthur Allan Thomas.
Judge John Bergseng has dismissed the jury after a full day of deliberations.
The jury has now spent 12 hours deliberating since it retired to consider its verdict at midday yesterday at Auckland's Manukau District Court.
The Judge has directed the jury of eight men and four women against discussing the trial with anyone over the weekend.
He also emphasised the jury can take as long as it needs to reach verdicts on the five charges – four of sexual assault and one of rape.
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.
On Thursday 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.
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