Not guilty of torture

AFTER a half-day deliberating, a jury has found Karumba skipper Yarn Garrick Ward, 44, not guilty of torturing his deckhand while on a fishing trip in a remote creek on the Gulf of Carpentaria.

The jury returned its verdict shortly before 1pm on Friday.

The Crown had argued that Mr Ward and his deckhand George Jelef in 2019 were on a roughly monthlong commercial fishing trip alongside another boat in Gin Arm Creek, and that Mr Ward’s conduct had escalated over time from routine insults and belittling Mr Jelef, to physical assaults.

Giving evidence, Mr Ward denied the allegations, and said he had seen Mr Jelef taking drugs before the trip.

Mr Ward told the court he believed that was the cause of Mr Jelef’s “erratic” behaviour, which included an incident where the 50-year-old jumped into crocodile-infested waters and swam to shore and spent the night, before being found the next day.

Mr Jelef told the court Mr Ward had threatened to break his legs if he did not get off the boat – again, a claim denied by Mr Ward.

The crew of the other boat, skipper Bryan Wilson and deckhand Robbie Sneddon were both called to give evidence by the defence.

The two said they did not see anything untoward while their boat and Mr Ward’s were tied together during the barramundi fishing trip.

Eventually, the court heard how 11 police officers, some of whom were armed with semiautomatic rifles, visited the creek to perform a welfare check on Mr Jelef off the back of a complaint from his family, and he was taken to Burketown with them.

Defence Barrister James Sheridan explained how in mid-2019, his client had decided to help out Mr Jelef, who was going through a tough time.

“George also had a drug addiction or a drug problem or habit at that time,” Mr Sheridan told the court.

Mr Ward, giving evidence, told the court that in 2019, Mr Jelef’s drug use was getting worse and worse. He said he had seen Mr Jelef use drugs in the week before the fishing trip and that his behaviour on the trip was at first “ridiculous” and then “erratic”.

Mr Ward sat, nodding his head and half-smiling as the jury returned their not guilty verdict. He did not wish to speak when later approached for comment.