A man accused of raping a fellow cadet at the Royal Military College in Canberra will not face a second trial, after the ACT Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) decided pursuing the charge was not in the public interest.
The jury in the first trial of Samisoni Baikeitoga, 24, was deadlocked on the issue of whether he had sexually assaulted a colleague in her room at Duntroon while she was drunk in April last year.
At the conclusion of the trial the jury foreperson told the ACT Supreme Court the only thing the jury could agree on was that they would never reach a verdict.
After the jury was discharged, the DPP Shane Drumgold determined the case should not be heard by a second jury.
A spokeswoman said he had consulted both with DPP policy, and the woman who had accused Mr Baikeitoga before making the decision.
"After a review and consultation with the complainant, he was of the view that another jury would not be in a better position to reach a unanimous verdict, and that a retrial was not in the interests of justice," she said.
Prosecutors had alleged the complainant had awoke to find Mr Baikeitoga having sex with her, and that he refused to stop despite being asked twice.
The trial had been told that after investigators linked him to the woman by DNA test he was interviewed by police, but he did not tell them about his encounter with the woman for fear of falling afoul of Duntroon's anti-fraternisation rules.
The court also heard that after being interviewed by police he made the internet search "how to beat a rape charge?"
Mr Baikeitoga, a Fijian national, had protested his innocence throughout the trial, acknowledging he had sex with the complainant, but insisting it was consensual.
He had taken the stand during the trial, to give evidence that the woman had initiated their encounter, and that she had never asked him to stop.
'Very relieved'; Samisoni Baikeitoga to return to Fiji this week
Mr Baikeitoga plans to fly home to Fiji within days, and resume his position as a lieutenant within the Fijian military.
His lawyer, Jacob Robertson, said the trial process had taken a toll on his client.
"[He is] very relieved, not only due to the stress and the anxiety of the trial being over, but the fact that he can go back and visit his family — see his family," he said.
"He hasn't seen them for over 18 months, as bail conditions have restricted him from doing that.
"So he's very relieved to be going home and returning to the military."
He said Mr Baikeitoga's position within the Fijian military had been held open for him throughout the criminal proceedings.
"It's been stayed effectively, put on hold whilst this trial was going forward," he said.
"The Fijian military stood behind him despite the fact he hasn't been able to do anything for the last 18 months.
"However he returns to Fiji, effective immediately, as a lieutenant in the Republic of Fiji military."
