Horse trainer Christopher Bieg found not guilty of domestic violence

A well-known Adelaide horse trainer has been found not guilty of domestic violence against his ex-partner.

Well-known Adelaide horse trainer Christopher Bieg has been acquitted by a jury of alleged domestic violence after fewer than four hours’ deliberation.

On Friday, a District Court jury of seven men and five women found Mr Bieg not guilty of ten counts of aggravated assault and one count of aggravated causing harm with intent to do so.

Jurors also acquitted him of one count of having unlawfully choked, suffocated or strangled another person.

Mr Bieg stood in the dock with his hands folded and nodded as the verdict was read aloud.

Judge Ian Press said there was no longer a need for Mr Bieg to stand in the dock or be on bail conditions.

“You are free to go,” he told Mr Bieg.

Christopher Bieg outside court. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Kelly Barnes

Outside court Andrew Ey, for Mr Bieg, said his client was “extremely happy with the result”.

“Now he’s just looking forward to getting back to his family and to getting back to work as normal,” he said.

Asked if he felt his reputation had been damaged by the trial, Mr Bieg replied: “I have no comment on that – it speaks for itself.”

Earlier, the court heard the evidence of Mr Bieg’s alleged victim had a “real air of being scripted” like a “theatre production”.

Mr Bieg, 37, of Camden Park was standing trial in the District Court accused of strangling, kicking, punching and stomping on a former partner who he initially met via an online messaging application to pay for sex.

In a closing address to the jury on Thursday, Andrew Ey, for Mr Bieg said his client “denies these assaults ever happened at all”.

He said the alleged victim’s evidence was “simply not supported by independent evidence” and urged the jury to assess her “credibility and reliability”.

“In my submission to you, at worst she has completely made this evidence up or at best, on the prosecution case, she has embellished it so far that her entire evidence is infected that you cannot rely on it,” he said.

He further said the victim’s evidence “had a real air of being scripted, as if someone were trying to recite their lines”.

“Lines in a theatre production,” he said.

Jockey Dylan Caboche is a defence witness in is the trial of horse trainer Christopher Bieg. Picture: Roy Van Der Vegt

Defence witness, jockey Dylan Caboche, said he stayed at Mr Bieg’s home during one of the alleged assaults in November 2019 but did not see any arguments, injuries or assaults.

“Everyone was in a happy demeanour the whole period of time I was there,” he said.

Opening the trial on Monday, Raffaele Piccolo, prosecuting, said the former couple met via the application Kik, in mid-2019 when Mr Bieg arranged to pay the woman for sex.

They entered an “exclusive” relationship in August 2019 which developed into one of emotional and physical abuse in the months that followed.

“The relationship … can best be characterised by coercion, control and … allegations of assault,” he said.

In her evidence, the woman said Mr Bieg imposed rules on their relationship, including that she had to move in with Mr Bieg and he had total access to her phone.

She described being shoved into walls, pushed onto the ground, lifted up by her hair and grabbed by the throat.

Mr Bieg had pleaded not guilty to multiple offences over multiple alleged incidents during their five-month relationship.

Judge Ian Press directed the jury to return a verdict of not guilty to another count of unlawful choking, suffocating or strangling, after the victim said Mr Bieg’s actions in grabbing her throat did not restrict her breathing, as required for a finding of guilt to the charge.