Wolf Creek Star Jon Jarrat Wants Legal System Changed After Being Falsely Accused Of Rape

John Jarratt has been in some of the most iconic Australian and international movies and TV shows, including Wolf Creek, Django Unchained and McLeod's Daughters.

He's a celebrated member of the acting community, however, two years ago his name was dragged through the mud by a woman who accused him of rape.

His former housemate claimed the actor raped her in 1976 but he wasn't even aware of the situation until his agent told him a newspaper was running the story.

Even though he was found not guilty this year (the jury took 15 minutes to come to that conclusion), he says he's still faced some level of scrutiny for the matter.

Due to the current legal system, the woman who brought forward the accusation has remained anonymous.

The 67-year-old told Sunrise: "The 20 months of being hung out to dry in the media is the killer.

"I spent two years of my life accused of being a rapist. It destroyed my career, my life and my family. We had to describe the word rape to my two-year-old granddaughter.

"I've been through hell, and I shouldn't have been through hell, and there's a way for me not to go through hell. That's to give someone in a 'he said, she said' situation where there's very little evidence a suppression order, like the female has got.

"It was horrendous and no one should have to go through it, so I want to change it."

He's calling for an overhaul of the system so that alleged perpetrators get anonymity in the same way that alleged victims do.

Roadshow Entertainment

Jarratt has recalled the horrifying moment when he got the call that he knew was going to cause a massive disruption in his life.

"I was with my daughter having a coffee and my phone rang," he explained.

"She said that someone had accused me of raping them forty odd years ago, it would be on the front pages on Saturday and they wanted comment on whether you did it or not".

"I said no and hung up, because I couldn't talk anymore. I've been in the business since 1974, I knew what I was up against and what was going to happen. I knew I was going to be dragged through the ringer."

While the accusation came in 2017, it wasn't until August last year that he was charged. His trial began in July this year and lasted five weeks.

Topics: Entertainment, Celebrity, Australia

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Trending Journalist at LADbible. His first job was as a newsreader and journalist at the award winning Sydney radio station, Macquarie Radio. He was solely responsible for the content broadcast on multiple stations across Australia when the MH17, Germanwings and AirAsia disasters unfolded. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign.

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