Suspended St George Illawarra forward Jack de Belin was forced to endure another delay on Tuesday after the jury in his second trial was sensationally dismissed.
De Belin and co-accused Callan Sinclair are facing five counts of aggravated sexual assault related to an alleged incident involving a then-19-year-old woman in Wollongong in December, 2018.
A jury in the pair’s first trial last December were unable to reach a verdict in Wollongong Local Court.
Their second trial, which is expected to last three weeks, got underway in Sydney’s Downing Centre District Court on Tuesday.
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However, there was more drama for the Dragons and NSW Blues lock when a juror told judge Nicol Noman SC the daily allowance of $106.30 paid to jurors was not enough to pay his living expenses.
As first reported by News Corp Australia, the entire jury was subsequently released from their duties.
Attempts to seat a new jury on Tuesday afternoon were unsuccessful, with efforts to assemble 12 new jurors to continue on Wednesday.
De Belin has not played an NRL game since the 2019 season.
He became the first player suspended indefinitely under the code’s controversial no-fault-stand-down policy in March, 2019.
De Belin was paid in full for the 2019 and 2020 seasons and was permitted to train with the Dragons squad.
The veteran of 154 games for the Red V since his first-grade debut in 2011 is not currently contracted to the Dragons.
However, it is understood the club is standing by the NSW lock.
Despite his legal issues, multiple clubs have shown an interest in signing De Belin if he is found not guilty at his re-trial.
