The Australian actor and director John Jarratt has appeared in court for the first time on a rape charge as his lawyer reiterated he will be defending the charge.
The Wolf Creek actor, who appeared at Sydney’s Downing Centre local court on Tuesday, is accused of sexually assaulting a woman at Randwick, in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, in September 1976.
Jarratt would be eligible for a 25% sentence discount were he to plead guilty in the local court and a small discount for a guilty plea in the district court before trial.
He is then expected to formally enter a plea when his case returns to the Downing Centre local court for a committal hearing on 29 November.