A jury hearing the case of a man accused of raping a Thai sex worker at a Canberra apartment has been discharged.
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Justice Richard Refshauge thanked the 12 jurors and sent them home this afternoon after defendant Robert Phillip Dick's medical issues became too difficult to manage along with a criminal trial.
The ACT Supreme Court will now try to schedule the matter for a new trial with a new jury some time in 2012.
Dick, also known as "Uncle" or "Bobo", pleaded not guilty to two counts of having sex with the woman against her will and an allegation of committing an act of indecency on her.
The Crown alleged the three incidents occurred at a Braddon flat linked to the sex trade, where the complainant lived and worked as a prostitute.
But Dick's barrister, Ray Livingston, argued any sexual contact between the two was consensual, and suggested one of the incidents could not have occurred because his client was suffering from erectile dysfunction at the time.
This week's trial repeatedly had to be halted because of the 57 year old's health problems.