An Australian court discharged a jury on Thursday in the trial of a former government adviser accused of sexually assaulting a colleague in Parliament House, after it said a juror got access to details that were not submitted as evidence.
Lucy McCallum, chief justice of the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory, said at least one juror had access to research that was not given to the jury during the trial.
A court bailiff inadvertently found the juror had access to an academic research paper on sexual assault, court documents showed. The 12-day trial had concluded and the jury had been deliberating for five days when it was found.
