Northern Districts cricketer's rape trial: Jury remains undecided

Scott Kuggeleijn who denies raping the woman in May last year. Photo / David Kerr

A jury deliberating the fate of a Northern Districts cricketer's rape allegation will resume tomorrow after failing to reach a verdict today.

Scott Kuggeleijn is fighting a charge of rape after an alleged rape of the complainant in her Hamilton flat in May last year.

Judge Philip Connell made the decision to release the jury in the Hamilton District Court just after 5pm after discovering they still hadn't reached a decision.

They will resume again at 9am tomorrow.

Earlier, a jury has begun deliberating after Judge Philip Connell sent the jury out just before 11.30am.

His lawyer Philip Morgan QC had told the jury in the Hamilton District Court to dismiss the charge and says there was no protestation by the alleged victim and that she did consent, albeit reluctantly or regretfully.

However, Crown prosecutor Jacinda Foster said the complainant did say no and even tried to wriggle out from underneath Kuggeleijn, who had her pinned down by her arms.

The judge gave the jury four questions to consider. The first revolved around whether sex actually took place, followed by whether the complainant consented to it.

If they believed she wasn't consenting, the jury had to consider whether the Crown has proven that Kuggeleijn didn't believe she was consenting.

If they agreed with that, they had to decide if Kuggeleijn had reasonable grounds to believe that she was consenting.

Connell suggested the jury considered Kuggeleijn's evidence first. If they accept what he says, they should find him not guilty. Or, if they were unsure, then they must also find him not guilty. But even if they disbelieved Kuggeleijn's evidence they would then need to assess the Crown's submissions in regards to the complainant saying "no".

Morgan accepted the consent wasn't a "lustful" consent in that she passionately wanted to have sex with Kuggeleijn, it was rather she may not have wanted to but she relented and gave in to it happening.