Gao Yunxiang found not guilty in Sydney rape case

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https://www.westernmagazine.com.au/story/6687302/chinese-star-not-guilty-of-sydney-rape/?cs=9397

 

 

A Chinese movie star and producer have been found not guilty of raping a woman inside a Sydney hotel room, ending the near two-year legal saga.

Actor Yunxiang Gao and producer Jing Wang were on Thursday found not guilty of a raft of charges and cleared of sexually assaulting the woman inside the Shangri-La Hotel in the early hours of March 27, 2018.

Mr Gao, who was once described as the "Chinese Hugh Jackman", was acquitted of five counts of sexual assault and two counts of indecent assault.

Mr Wang was found not guilty of sexual intercourse without consent, five counts of sexual assault, two counts of indecent assault and two counts of attempted sexual assault.

The pair are now free to travel home after two trials and having had their lives put on hold since they were arrested shortly after they were accused of assaulting the woman following the wrap party for a TV series.

Last December, a jury failed to reach a verdict on 10 counts, but found Mr Wang not guilty of one count of rape.

But upon retrial, the NSW District Court jury accepted their version of events that all sexual acts were consensual.

Mr Wang spent 22 months in custody but was released on bail prior to the second trial which began in late February.

On the night of the alleged incident, Mr Gao, Mr Wang and the complainant were among a group of people partying and drinking following the conclusion of filming of Love in Aranya, a series which starred Mr Gao.

CCTV showed Mr Wang and the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, hugging and kissing inside a Sydney CBD karaoke bar.

After a bus dropped a small group of people outside the luxury Shangri-La Hotel in The Rocks, the woman accompanied Mr Wang up to his hotel room.

The prosecution argued that when Mr Gao entered the room, the pair undressed her and sexually assaulted her despite her repeatedly saying "no".

It was alleged that after Mr Gao left the room, Mr Wang continued to sexually assault her.

However, the jury took one day to deliberate and find them not guilty off all charges and accept their assertion that they all consented to the sexual acts.