A jury has found Rory Amon not guilty of four counts of child rape, two counts of attempted child rape and two counts of indecent assault of a child after three days of deliberations. The verdict delivers a partial exoneration for the former Liberal MP, thoughthe jury deadlocked on the remaining charges, leaving Amon exposed to a retrial.
The case centered on allegations spanning a single evening in July 2017.When Amon was 27 and aspiring for a life in politics, he and the complainant moved their discussion to Snapchat where explicit messages and images were sent, before meeting in person at an apartment block where they moved to a small, dirty bathroom under the building.Eight of the charges related to the boy's claims of a second meeting with Amon in a car park bathroom that same month.
The prosecution's case hinged on a claim of obvious knowledge.Prosecutors argued that Amon had seen the boy in explicit photos, under street lights and then in a lit bathroom before the light was turned off, which should have made it obvious to Amon that the youth was under 16. The defence countered directly.Amon testified "He told me he was 17 and nothing I saw changed that belief".
The timeline matters here.The complainant told friends, his mother, a school counsellor and his psychologist about the incident soon afterwards, but made a formal complaint to police five years later.The two briefly reconnected on Grindr in 2022 when Amon sent him more images, including one wearing his volunteer firefighters uniform.
For Amon, the moment of the verdict marks a change of fortune after two years of professional devastation.He served two terms on Northern Beaches Council before being elected as the Liberal MP for the state seat of Pittwater in 2023, but the charges killed his fledgling career in state politics, forcing his expulsion from the Liberal party and his resignation after his election in March 2023. His resignation had broader political consequences.His exit had implications for the state Liberals, which lost the formerly safe seat to a teal independent at the subsequent by-election.
The deadlock on two counts means the path forward is uncertain. Either prosecutors will pursue a retrial or the Crown will accept the acquittals and discontinue the remaining charges. Either way, the case reflects the genuine difficulty juries face in assessing the subjective question of what someone knew or should have known about another person's age in online environments where false information flows freely and assumptions often prove wrong.