Jury still out in Nelson sex abuse case

Photo / Herald on Sunday

The jury in the trial of a former national figure accused of sexually assaulting a teenage girl was last night unable to reach a verdict.

The Nelson District Court jurors retired for a second night yesterday after indicating they were making progress but did not yet have an unanimous decision, the Nelson Mail reported.

The man, who has name suppression, has denied three charges of indecent assault.

The Crown alleges he indecently assaulted the girl by touching her breasts at a Nelson house in December 2009.

He further assaulted her on the same night by rubbing her leg, touching her genitalia and kissing her on the back.

The defence says that the incidents never happened.

The trial opened on Monday and the jury started deliberating at 4pm on Wednesday.

- NZPA