Sydney swimming coach Kyle Daniels has been found not guilty of five counts of sexually abusing a young female student.
The 22-year-old pleaded not guilty to 26 charges related to nine girls he taught at the Mosman Swim Centre.
The NSW District Court heard the students were aged between five and 10 when they were allegedly touched on or underneath their swimming costumes in 2018 and 2019.
After hearing seven weeks of evidence, the jury had deliberately for two-and-a-half hours today before returning the partial result.
The five charges relate to one girl, aged seven at the time, and included sexual intercourse with a child and indecent assault.
The jury has been asked to return to deliberations on the remaining 21 charges.
The jurors retired this morning but after only 90 minutes of deliberations, sent a note to Judge Kara Shead indicating there was strong disagreement.
She has directed them to return to their task, saying "calm and objective" discussion of the evidence can lead to a better understanding of different opinions in the jury room.
"Experience has shown often juries are able to agree in the end if they're given more time," Judge Shead said.
She urged them to listen to and consider one another's views, but also told them she does have the power to discharge the panel if there is no likelihood of agreement.
Earlier, the judge told the jurors they must approach their task dispassionately and impartially, and that there was no room for sympathy for either side.
The Crown accuses Mr Daniels of opportunistically acting on an interest in the students for his own sexual gratification.
When he gave evidence last week, Mr Daniels strongly denied all allegations and said he had "absolutely not" touched any girl inappropriately.
His lawyers have questioned the conduct of the officer in charge of the investigation, including her use of leading questions during interviews with the complainants.
They have also suggested the complainants' accounts was contaminated by things they overheard or media reports.
More to come.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiZWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIwLTEyLTE3L3N5ZG5leS1qdXJ5LXZlcmRpY3Qtb24tbW9zbWFuLXN3aW0tY29hY2gta3lsZS1kYW5pZWxzLzEyOTkyNzgy0gEnaHR0cHM6Ly9hbXAuYWJjLm5ldC5hdS9hcnRpY2xlLzEyOTkyNzgy?oc=5
2020-12-17 01:14:00Z
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