Jarratt rape trial date set

WOLF Creek star John Jarratt will have to wait until July next year to try to clear his name over a historical rape allegation following a delay by prosecutors.

The 66-year-old actor is accused of sexually assaulting a woman at a house in Randwick, in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, in September 1976.

He was in Downing Centre District Court yesterday to be arraigned but the judge was told prosecutors had yet to serve the indictment. Jarratt will now have to enter a plea in February, with a five-day trial set from July 1, 2019.

“I’m very disappointed the Crown is not ready,” Judge Helen Symes said.

The court was told the charge certification sheet hadn’t been prepared, with the prosecutor speculating it could be because many staff were taking leave over the December-January period.