Jack de Belin leaves court after he was found not guilty of one charge.Credit:Steven Siewert
“In circumstances where two juries were unable to agree upon a verdict,the Director of Public Prosecutions has determined not to proceed to a third trial against Jack De Belin and Callan Sinclair,” a spokeswoman for the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions said.
De Belin’s solicitor Robert Foster said that,“for all intents and purposes,this means the charges have been dropped and the matter is at an end. The presumption of innocence remains intact”,while de Belin’s lawyer,David Campbell,SC,said his client “wanted to get on with his life and career”.
“The best way to describe it is if the charges were never brought,” Mr Campbell said. “The presumption of innocence prevails and when the prosecution determines to discontinue proceedings,it’s as if they were never brought.
“He just wants to get the boots on and show everyone how he can play football.”
The charges are expected to be formally withdrawn when the matter is mentioned in court on Friday.
Earlier this month de Belin and Sinclair were found not guilty on one count of sexual intercourse without consent,but the jury of eight men and four women could not reach a unanimous or majority verdict – which requires 11 out of 12 jurors – on the other charges. They had deliberated for more than a week.
De Belin,30,has been sidelined for 2½ years under the NRL’s no-fault stand-down policy,which he unsuccessfully challenged in the Federal Court in 2019.