Max Cleary: jury acquits man of rape charge

A jury has delivered a not guilty verdict in the rape trial of a Sydney landscaper whose father was a former Manly Sea Eagles CEO and an esteemed Catholic school headmaster.

Max Cleary.

A jury has found a Sydney landscaper whose father was a Manly Sea Eagles CEO not guilty of raping a woman he met on a dating app.

Max Cleary, 25, was charged with two counts of sexual intercourse without consent in respect of allegations he digitally penetrated a woman and then had sex with her without her consent on his friend’s bathroom floor on August 15, 2020.

Cleary, who had remained steadfastly collected during the trial, was in floods of tears after the verdict was read aloud at Downing District Court. Loud gasps of relief, followed by tears, emanated from his family. From the dock, Cleary turned to his famous father and nodded slightly with a smile as his gathered family hugged one another. Outside the courthouse, Cleary made a purposeful exit away from what was, as Judge Nicole Norman said, an “emotionally high” nine-day-long proceedings, but did say it was “great” to hear the not guilty verdict and he was “feeling good”.

He had pleaded not guilty to both charges and maintained their sexual encounter was mutual and consensual – and that he had bought condoms at the woman’s request.

The jury took about six hours to deliver their not guilty verdict.

There was no dispute the Manly landscaper and the woman had met on dating app Hinge, met in person for the first time at Kuleto’s cocktail bar in Newtown, then retired to his friend’s Camperdown home afterwards.

Max Cleary leaves the Downing Centre Court in 2020. Picture: Joel Carrett

There was also no dispute they had sex on his friend’s bathroom floor.

Cleary consistently denied raping the woman, saying in his evidence they were “both active participants” in the sexual act and that he had ducked out to buy condoms at 7/11 at her request.

However, the woman had maintained she had pushed Cleary away, shook her head and said “no, no, no” before he raped her, then put her in the shower.

She then booked an Uber and went directly to Ashfield police station to make a complaint.

Early in the trial, the jury saw harrowing footage of the woman dropping to her knees as she entered the police station, dropping her head to her hands.

More to come.