Jury deliberations in the trial of Sydney swimming coach Kyle Daniels have been halted after a juror was prevented from attending court due to the Northern Beaches COVID-19 cluster.
The panel retired on Thursday to consider 26 charges against Mr Daniels following his seven-week trial in the NSW District Court.
After a matter of hours, the jury acquitted him of five counts on the indictment.
The 22-year-old denies sexually abusing nine young girls, all aged under 10, during lessons at the Mosman Swim Centre in 2018 and 2019.
The jurors have told Judge Kara Shead there is "a deadlock" that won't be resolved regardless of how long they spend in discussions, but they were urged to persevere.
On Friday, one juror did not return to court and Judge Shead said their absence was due to the COVID outbreak.
"I can assure you there is no illness, it's just a location issue," she told the remaining jurors.
"The advice from Government is that people who live in that area are not to leave the area."
Further complicating the situation were interstate travel plans for one juror from Friday.
Judge Shead discharged the juror and asked the 11 other members of the panel to return on Monday.
"There may be developments over the weekend," she said, referring to the COVID outbreak.
"I'm aware that this is causing you a difficulty moving into the Christmas season.
"For the time being, I ask for your continued patience and perseverance.
"I know this is unexpected for all of us," Judge Shead said.
The charges for which there has been a not guilty verdict all relate to one complainant — who was seven at the time — and were some of the most serious, including sexual intercourse with a child.
During the course of the trial, the court has heard pre-recorded video interviews with all nine complainants, who variously alleged they were touched on or underneath their swimming costumes.
But Mr Daniels rejected each specific allegation when he stepped into the witness box, saying he had "absolutely not" touched the girls inappropriately.
His defence barrister has questioned the reliability of the girls' accounts, highlighted inconsistencies in their recollections and suggested their evidence could have been contaminated by hearsay or media reports.
The trial began in late October and was originally scheduled to run for six weeks.
