The jury in a trial of a doctor accused of raping a nurse and indecently assaulting her with a toothbrush has been discharged after failing to come to agree on any of the charges.
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Imran Kader was on trial in the ACT Supreme Court after pleading not guilty to six charges, including two counts of sexual intercourse without consent.
He also denies two counts of committing an act of indecency without consent, and single charges of second-degree sexual assault and attempting to pervert the course of justice.
Jury deliberations began mid-afternoon on Wednesday but ended on Friday after jurors said they were "not in agreement on any of the counts and do not believe they will reach agreement".
In the ACT, a jury is required to come to a unanimous decision.
Prior to discharging the jury, Chief Justice Lucy McCallum urged its members to see if there was "any prospect of agreement".
"Calm and objective discussion of the evidence often leads to a better understanding of the differences in opinion you may have," she said.
"Experience has shown that often juries can agree if given more time to discuss the evidence."
During the trial, which began in November, the court heard the doctor and nurse first met at a bar in Braddon on the night of a Christmas party in November 2019.
The prosecution alleges the 39-year-old pushed the nurse into a taxi bound for his apartment in Deakin later that night.
Once in his apartment, it is alleged Kader indecently assaulted the nurse with an electric toothbrush.
The prosecution alleges Kader then forcefully pushed the nurse onto his bed, resulting in a large bruise on her back when she hit the wooden bedframe. Kader is then accused of raping the woman.
He is also accused of pushing the victim's face into a plate of cocaine. Kader maintains this never happened.
While giving evidence, Kader denied assaulting the alleged victim with a toothbrush, but said the other sexual acts were consensual.
Kader claimed the bruise was a result of stumbling and accidentally dropping the nurse on the bed before sexual activity continued.
The court heard the nurse noticed the doctor, who was married at the time, was wearing a wedding ring and tried to leave.
The prosecution alleges Kader threw the woman against a wall to prevent her from leaving, before she got in an Uber.
In his closing address, defence barrister James Maher said the alleged victim had gone willingly and voluntarily home with Kader.
He suggested the nurse "might have sought to minimise her involvement on the night" out of embarrassment at going home with a married man.
Kader previously pleaded guilty to a perjury charge relating to evidence he gave during legal proceedings earlier this year, when he falsely said a dog was living with him at the time of the alleged rape.
The doctor's case will now go before the court's registrar next Thursday.
Kader, who now lives in Newcastle, remains on bail and is not required to appear next week if he is legally represented.
