Source : Perth Now news
A jury has been discharged after they were unable to agree on whether former Liberal MP Roderick “Rory” Amon raped a 13-year-old in a carpark bathroom after they met on a gay dating site nearly 10 years ago.
Mr Amon was found not guilty of a further eight historical child sexual offences related to a second alleged encounter with the boy, which Mr Amon denied ever took place during his trial in the NSW Supreme Court.
The jury were discharged by Acting Justice Robert Allan Hulme on Monday after they remained deadlocked on the first two counts after days of deliberation.
“Your Honour we, the jury, again find ourselves at an impasse for counts one and two,” a note from the jury read.
“We are nowhere closer to achieving a majority verdict as directed.”
Mr Amon was found not guilty of four counts of having sexual intercourse, two counts of attempting sexual intercourse, and one count each of indecent assault and committing an act of indecency related to the complainant, who was aged 13 at the time.
The counts the jury were hung on include one count each of indecent assault of a person under 16 years of age and having sexual intercourse with a person aged between 10 and 14.
They relate to an encounter late one night in July 2017; the former Northern Beaches councillor did not dispute that he engaged in sexual activity with the boy after they met on a gay dating site and exchanged “nude photographs” with him on the social media app Snapchat but argued the boy told him he was 17.
Mr Amon may face a retrial over the first two counts, but the decision will be up to the director of public prosecutions.
Mr Amon did not speak to the awaiting media as he left court with his family on Monday afternoon.
He will remain on the same bail he was previously subject to.
Ex-MP met teen on gay dating site
Mr Amon, then 27, met the boy on a gay dating site in 2017, with the complainant – now 22 – admitting he lied about his age to meet the site’s age requirements.
The complainant claimed he believed he at some stage told Mr Amon he was 15; however, the former MP claimed the boy told him he was 17.
They moved over to Snapchat late on July 20 and exchanged nude photographs before arranging to meet at the boy’s home at some point in the days following.
Mr Amon did not dispute that he guided the boy’s hand to his erect penis over his pants before the boy to performed oral sex on him in the carpark bathroom of the teen’s apartment complex where he lived with his family late one evening, but he told the jury he could not recall specific details.
However, he denied a second encounter took place during which the prosecution alleged he performed oral sex on the teen before attempting to have sex him and further asking the boy to masturbate while he did the same.
The boy blocked Mr Amon on Snapchat and told friends, teachers and his psychologist vague details about his encounter with Mr Amon, the jury was told, but a police investigation was suspended, as he did not want to provide further details.
Years later in 2019 the pair had further contact on Snapchat before the boy blocked the former councillor again.
In 2022, they again came into contact, this time on Grindr. Mr Amon sent the teen photos of himself, including one of him in his Rural Fire Service uniform. The complainant did not reply.
The complainant reported the matter to police in 2022 when he was aged 18, and Mr Amon was arrested in August 2024.
Ex-MP used fake name
Mr Amon previously told the jury that he used the fake name “brandcoopz1” on Snapchat, where he exchanged “nude photographs” with the boy, and had registered a second mobile phone under another name.
He told the jury he used both the Snapchat account and the second mobile phone for Grindr-related purposes, fearing his sexuality could impact the progress of his political career.
The complainant, now 22, previously said he did not discover Mr Amon’s true identity until years later when a friend received an email about Covid from Mr Amon, who was, by then, a Northern Beaches councillor.
Mr Amon served as the member for Pittwater from March 25, 2023 to August 30, 2024.
More to come …
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