A man cried and embraced his family as he was found not guilty of raping a University of Sydney student after a party at St Paul’s College campus, with the act filmed at the man’s Rose Bay apartment and later found on the woman’s phone.
Darcy Nivison Clifton pleaded not guilty to sexual intercourse without consent against the then-18-year-old following a dress-up party at a bar on the Sydney University grounds in late 2022.
Darcy Clifton departs Darlinghurst Courthouse after a not guilty verdict for allegedly raping a Sydney university student.Credit: Wolter Peeters
The 22-year-old faced a trial with two weeks’ worth of evidence in Sydney’s Darlinghurst District Court. His family hugged him and wept as he was acquitted of the alleged rape early on Wednesday afternoon.
The 12-person jury retired about 12pm on August 13 to deliberate and delivered two notes to the judge in the following days, expressing they had been unable to reach a verdict. Judge Jennie Girdham, SC, first gave a direction asking them to continue deliberating and a second direction, on Tuesday afternoon, to try to reach a majority verdict, which would require 11 of the 12 jurors to reach a unanimous decision. They returned their not guilty verdict about 12pm on Wednesday.
During its closing remarks, the trial heard Clifton had attended the same party as the Sydney University student around 7:30pm on the relevant night. The complainant was refused attempts to buy more drinks and she left the party with her friends around the same time as Clifton and his companions. The woman and Clifton kissed on the university grounds before catching an Uber together to Clifton’s Rose Bay apartment, where they had sexual intercourse.
Defence barrister Angela Cook, SC, had argued the woman was a “mutual, active and agreeable” participant, while Crown prosecutor James Staples submitted she was in the midst of an “alcoholic blackout” and was incapable of consenting.
Clifton’s family depart Darlinghurst Courthouse. The embraced the 22-year-old after hearing the verdict.Credit: Wolter Peeters
The court heard the woman earlier testified she did not remember the sexual encounter until later finding a video and audio recording of it saved to her phone. Clifton, from the Mid North Coast, testified that the recordings were made consensually.
Delivering her closing address, Cook argued that the complainant was not too drunk to consent.
Read the full article here
