A former New South Wales police officer, David Robert Blackbourne, has been found not guilty of one count of assault with an act of indecency, while the jury could not reach a verdict on four other charges related to allegations of sexual misconduct from 1998. The trial, which concluded in Sydney's Downing Centre District Court, ended with the jury being discharged after a week of deliberations. The matter has been relisted for later this month. Blackbourne, 56, was originally charged in 2023 with multiple offenses, including two counts of sexual intercourse without consent, two counts of assault with an act of indecency, and one count of holder of public office misconduct. He was arrested in 2023 and pleaded not guilty to all charges. The case stems from an alleged incident in October 1998, when Blackbourne, then a police officer, reportedly raped a 17-year-old girl in a NSW-Victoria border town. The complainant initially came forward with her allegations in 2016 to Victoria Police, and the investigation was transferred to NSW Police in 2021. During the trial, the court heard testimony from the complainant, who described how Blackbourne gave her a police hat at a school event before allegedly pulling her pants down and raping her. She claimed the assault occurred twice, once in the police station and once in another room. The complainant revealed that she first told her now-husband about the incident in 2002. It was only after contacting Victoria Police in 2016 that the case moved toward formal legal proceedings. The prosecution relied heavily on two covertly recorded phone calls, obtained by Victoria Police in 2020, which were used to help the complainant reconstruct her memories of the 1998 incident. One call involved the complainant speaking with her former employer, who helped identify Blackbourne based on his last name. This information was crucial in linking the suspect to the alleged crime. In his closing remarks, Crown Prosecutor Roger Kimball emphasized the consistency and reliability of the complainant’s former boss’s testimony, stating it supported her claims. He noted that Blackbourne had never publicly denied the allegations, suggesting a lack of denial might imply guilt. However, Blackbourne’s defense team challenged the credibility of the prosecution’s evidence, questioning whether the complainant accurately recalled key events and whether she correctly identified the perpetrator. Defense barrister Matthew Johnston SC pointed out that some of the complainant’s recollections of critical moments emerged from conversations with her former employer. This raised concerns about the reliability of her memory and the potential influence of external factors on her testimony. The jury’s inability to reach a verdict on the remaining charges indicates that the evidence presented did not provide sufficient clarity or consensus among the twelve jurors. The case highlights ongoing challenges in prosecuting historical sexual assault allegations, particularly when evidence is circumstantial or relies on recovered memories. The relisting of the matter for further hearings suggests that the court intends to revisit the unresolved charges, potentially introducing new evidence or clarifying existing testimonies. As the legal process continues, the outcome will depend on additional courtroom developments and the availability of further proof.
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