Actor John Jarratt charged with historic sexual assault

ACTOR John Jarratt, known for his role in Wolf Creek, has today been charged with allegedly sexually assaulting a woman more than 40 years ago.

Police allege Jarratt sexually assaulted a woman in Sydney’s east in the 1970s.

In a statement, NSW Police allege the assault occurred in September 1976 at a home on Daintrey Pl in Randwick.

Police allege Jarratt raped an 18-year-old woman inside the home.

Jarratt was confronted by 9News this afternoon and called the allegations “ridiculous and untrue”

“Mate, it’s fine, because I’m innocent,” he said.

“I’m good because I’m a good man.”

In December 2017, the woman reported the incident to officers from Eastern Beaches Police Area Command.

“Following inquiries, yesterday a 66-year-old man was issued a Future Court Attendance Notice for the offence of rape,” NSW Police said.

Jarratt was 23 at the time of the alleged rape.

Jarratt has previously denied the allegations.

In November last year, Jarratt’s talent agency Ignite Elite Artists said the actor “emphatically and completely denies the allegations of sexual assault”.

“These allegations are completely unfounded and untrue,” Ignite Elite Artists said in a statement.

The agency’s statement came after media personality Tracey Spicer asked her thousands of followers on Twitter to send her stories about the entertainment industry.

“Please, contact me privately to tell your stories,” she wrote on October 18.

Spicer later said more than 1600 women had contacted her, one of whom alleged John Jarratt sexually assaulted her in 1976.

Speaking to The New Daily last year, Spicer said she advised the woman to go to the police and file a report, which the woman did.

“I gave her the advice to talk to a female officer, and she did. It’s courageous to take that kind of action,” Spicer said.

Jarratt strongly denied the allegation when Spicer went public.

He is due to appear before Waverley Local Court on Wednesday 10 October 2018.

Jarratt has spent decades in the Australian entertainment industry, working as an actor since the 1970s.

Jarratt shot to stardom in 1975 for his role in Picnic at Hanging Rock, a year before the alleged sexual assault occurred.

In the 1990s, Jarratt starred in the popular lifestyle show Better Homes and Gardens and had roles on A Country Practice, McLeod’s Daughters and Play School.

But it was his role in the 2005 horror movie Wolf Creek that the 66-year-old actor is still best known for.

In 2016, Jarratt reprised his Wolf Creek role of serial killer Mick Taylor for a Stan series.

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